Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
by RavenclawGirl29
Summary: Michiru Kaioh was just an ordinary girl who sometimes had strange dreams. She wasn't anyone's savior. Until the dreams turn more sinister and silence approaches. Story of Sailor Neptune's awakening and quest to find Uranus.
1. Race Day

Michiru kicked harder, propelling herself faster through the water. She looked over at her opponent, they were almost neck and neck. Almost. Michiru pulled ahead and touched the pool wall first. A few seconds later Elsa touched. Both girls breached the surface at the same time. Elsa shook her head, sending little droplets of water everywhere, hitting Michiru.

"I nearly had you that time." Elsa panted.

Michiru smiled. "I'm going to have to start worrying."

"Don't tease. I'll beat you one of these days." Elsa said, she lifted herself out of the water and sat on the side of the pool. "I don't understand why you refuse to join the swim team. You would be amazing!"

"Competitive racing is your thing." replied Michiru dismissively. "Besides, I can't commit to a team. Concerts would get in the way."

Elsa made a face. "It's a waste of talent if you ask me. You would do brilliant. Hey! We could both get really good and go to the Olympics together!"

Michiru laughed this time, pulling herself up to sit next to her friend. "That's not a bad idea. You can't go alone. God only knows what trouble you'd get into alone in a foreign city."

Elsa beamed, "We could get into so much more trouble together."

Michiru rolled her eyes. "Come on, class starts soon. We need to get changed."

Elsa jumped back into the water. "No thanks. You go. I'll do a few more laps."

"Elsa Gray, you are _not_ skipping again." Elsa ignored her and started doing a backstroke. "I'll tell you're coach, he'll pull you from today's race."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Elsa glared at her and got out of the water. "Traitor." She mumbled. "No wonder I'm you're only friend."

"No wonder you're flunking math."

"I'm not flunking." retorted Elsa. "I'm just not passing yet."

"You're not going to get into high school at this rate." Michiru warned as they headed into the locker room. "And you'll get benched from the track."

Elsa continued to pout and glare.

"Stop looking at me like that. It's not my fault you don't do your homework."

"Can I come over to study tonight?" Elsa asked.

"Sure, but I'm not cooking this time. I have to finish my painting for the Shakai Gallery opening this weekend."

"Does that mean your not going to make it to my race?" asked Elsa.

Michiru looked over. Elsa looked slightly hurt at the prospect. "Don't worry." Michiru assured her. "I'll make it to the race." She went to every one of Elsa's races. She mainly went to support her friend, but she also did really enjoy them. She liked watching the runners. The way their bodies moved was like art in motion. And she always felt a burst of pride on Elsa's behalf when she finished first. And Elsa _always_ finished first. She hadn't once been beaten since they met.

The girls finished dressing and headed up to class. The rest of the day passed slowly. Elsa didn't go to lunch since she had to practice, so Michiru ate in the art room. She made small talk with some of the other art club members but other than that she didn't talk to anyone other than teachers until the last bell rang and she headed down to the track.

A big electronic scoreboard had the name of their school, Seijo Gakuen Junior High School, on one side and the name of the competing school, Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya Junior High School, on the other. The bleachers were already starting to fill up with spectators wearing Hibiya uniforms. Michiru was surprised. There were usually more than a few Seijo students who always made an effort to support the track team. But the visitors rarely brought fans, other than the occasional parent.

Michiru found herself a seat and pulled out her sketchpad to kill time before the races started. She couldn't help from listening into the conversation two Hibiya students were having when she hear her best friend's name.

"...this Elsa Gray is supposed to be really good. She's never been beaten. She's the star of Seijo Gakuen, have you ever seen her run?"

"No, but she can't be as good as Tenoh."

Michiru leaned in a little. Someone who was better than Elsa? That didn't seem possible.

"I don't know, there's a lot of hype..."

"Are they even racing each other?"

"I don't know. What's Tenoh running today?"

"The 800 meter and the relay."

Michiru lost interest and went back to drawing. Elsa was only doing sprints today. She was on probation from the longer races until her grades went up. Shame. It would have been a nice change of pace to see someone who could actually challenge her. When the first events started, Michiru watched with vague attention. It wasn't until the 60 meter that she actually watched. Not surprisingly, Elsa won. As she did four races later with the 200 meter. Michiru considered leaving after that to get to work on her painting. But something stopped her. A strange feeling compelled her to stay. Finally when it was time for the 800 meter, she looked up. The announced read of the names of the runners.

"...and in lane 8, number 10 from Hibiya Junior High, Haruka Tenoh."

Michiru suddenly felt like the world had fallen away. Her breath had been knocked out of her. Suddenly she couldn't see any of the racers other than Haruka Tenoh. She was tall, slim, built for running. Short, dusty blond hair that was ruffled and messy. Her face was determined as she took her mark. She seemed familiar. Just by looking at her Michiru was hit by a wave of nostalgia that she didn't understand.

Michiru's eyes locked on her as the gun sounded and the runners took off. Haruka Tenoh took the lead right away. She was fluid and graceful. It was beautiful to watch. Michiru didn't even realize she was gaping until the race was over and a Hibiya student tapped her shoulder.

"...are you okay, miss?"

Michiru started. "Huh?"

"You dropped your notebook."

"Oh...thank you."

The Hibiya girl giggled. "Is this the first time you've ever seen Tenoh run?"

Michiru felt embarrassed. "No...I..."

"Don't worry." a second Hibiya student said. "She has that affect on people. Even though she's a girl, I know plenty of girls who wouldn't mind taking a drive with her."

"No, it's not that..." Michiru said, felling flustered. She was painfully aware of the warmth in her face. "I just...I have to go."

She gathered her stuff and dashed from the track. It wasn't until she was half way to her apartment that she slowed down. What was she feeling? Why was her heart beating so fast? She shook her head to clear it. It was nothing. She was a track fan, that was all. She appreciated a good runner. After all, she had been to enough races. The lie was unconvincing, but she repeated it to herself the entire rest of the way home.

She went inside and started painting right away to calm herself down. About an hour later, the door opened, Elsa let herself in without knocking as per usual. "Hey, I tried to find you after the medal ceremony, but I figured you must have went home. I stopped and got meat buns from that one place we both like. I'm starved and didn't want to wait for a delivery guy. I hope that's okay."

"It's fine." Michiru replied.

Elsa sat down in a chair and started eating. "Did you stay for the whole thing or leave right after my races?"

"I stayed up until the 800 meter." admitted Michiru.

"Good, then you saw Haruka Tenoh."

Michiru froze. She felt her face warm up again. "Yes. What about her?"

"She's on my list." Elsa said.

"List?"

"I have a list of people who I _have_ to beat. The top runners from all the schools in our region. The people who have never been beaten. She's one of them. I'm so mad we finally raced against Hibiya and I didn't get to race her!"

Michiru went back to painting. "Better get to work then if you ever want a chance."

Elsa pouted. "You're such a buzz kill."

"That's probably why your my only friend." Michiru said with a teasing smile, repeating Elsa's words from this morning.

"I need to wait until your done painting." Elsa pointed out. "I came over so we could do our homework together, and so you could help me."

"Get started. If you need help I'll help you."

Elsa pouted even more but gave in and pulled out her book. "What are you painting anyways?"

"Come see." Michiru invited. The picture, which was nearly finished, was of a star field, galaxies swirled in the background. In the foreground a giant wave made of stars dust broke across the canvas, the planet Neptune was being tossed about along with it's moons.

"That's amazing." Elsa said in awe. "That's Neptune again, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"This is the third painting you've done of Neptune. What's your obsession with it lately?"

"I don't know." Michiru admitted. "I've been having dreams about it a lot."

"What kind of dreams?"

"You'll laugh."

"You're my best friend. I wouldn't laugh."

Michiru looked at her friend for a long moment, then turned back to her painting and continued her work. "I dream that there's a civilization living there. Great cities constructed in bubbles deep under the sea. Spiral towers and roads made out of blue crystal...And a garden. A huge garden behind an even bigger palace, with thousands of flowers I have never seen on Earth..."

"You should write a fantasy novel." Elsa said.

Michiru cracked a smile, glad that Elsa didn't laugh. "I barely have time for all the things I have on my plate right now. Why do you keep trying to convince me to put even _more_ on it?"

"Good point." Elsa said. "Still, you'd be good at it."

"Get back to your homework."


	2. Nightmares

_Silence..._

 _Michiru stood rooted to the ground. The world was a stark contrast of black and red...nothing other than black and red._

 _Silence is coming..._

" _What does that mean?" Michiru cried out. There was no answer. Michiru saw everyone she ever cared about in front of her. Her parents, Elsa, the girls from the art club, her manager...frozen like statues all of them had marble faces stuck in a look of terror. A wave grew from the horizon, big enough to swallow the city. Michiru couldn't run. She couldn't do a thing. The statues of her friends shattered as the wave grew closer. It closed in on Michiru..._

She bolted upright out of sleep. She was safe. She was in her apartment. Her silk bed sheets were covered in sweat. It hadn't been the first time she had that dream, but every time it recurred it became clearer and clearer. This was the first time she had seen the faces of the statues. She couldn't banish the looks of terror from her head.

 _Calm down._ She told herself. _Nightmares are for children. You're not a child._ Still she felt cold. She wished her parents were there. She checked the time on her alarm clock. 2:39 am. It would be afternoon in New York. She went into the living room and dialed the number of her parents' New York home. It range a few times before someone finally picked up.

" _Hello?"_

"Mom?"

" _Michala! I'm sorry, darling, I didn't think our phone date was until tomorrow! I was just heading out the door!"_

"No, it is...I just couldn't sleep and wanted to hear your voice."

" _Is everything alright?"_

"Yeah, just a bad dream."

She heard her mom's bell-like laugh, _"Just like when you were little. I'm sorry to do this to you, love, but I really need to go..."_

"It's fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

" _Okay, sweetheart, I love you. Have better dreams."_

"Love you, too, Mom."

The line went dead. Michiru didn't feel any better. She should have expected as much. They had specific times put aside for phone calls for a reason, her parents almost never had time to just chat.

She walked over to her easel and stared at her recently finished painting. The moonlight hit the drying paint and made Neptune glow in the dark room. For some reason she felt a pang of homesickness. Maybe it was from hearing her mom on the phone. Carefully she took the painting off the easel and set it in the corner to finish drying. She put a fresh canvas in it's place and started to paint once more.

 **Author's Note:** **Michala is the Bohemian form of Michiru. (Technically they're both forms of the name Michelle) It's not a typo. My head canon, and the canon that I'm using for this story is that Michiru is bi-racial, half Japanese, half Bohemian. Michiru's mom who isn't Japanese, would speak primarily in Czech and use the Czech form of her name. I'll get more into her later. She's a fun character who will pop in in later chapters.**


	3. The Girl from Hibiya

The sun broke through Michiru's window. She had managed to grab a little sleep that night, but not much. She felt groggy when she got ready for school. She tried to act normal but couldn't hide the fact that she was on edge all day.

"What's the matter with you today?" Elsa asked at the last when she accidentally dropped her books with a loud **thud** in the cloakroom and Michiru jumped a foot.

"Nothing." Lied Michiru. "I just didn't sleep very well last night."

"Nervous about your gallery opening?"

"No. I actually forgot all about that." Admitted Michiru.

"Then what is it?"

Michiru trusted Elsa, they were friends. But she didn't want to share the details of her dream with anyone. Not even her best friend. "Just a lot of stuff on my mind."

Elsa looked sympathetic and concerned. "Do you want to walk home together?"

"No." replied Michiru. "I just need some time by myself to think."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay..." Elsa said uncertainly. "I'll see you later."

Michiru threw her bag over her shoulder and headed home. For a reason she couldn't explain she decided to take a detour. Her mind knew she wasn't going the right way for her apartment, but her feet didn't care. They kept going. Finally she realized she arrived at a different school. She had arrived at the gates of a big, square red building. The words _Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya Junior High School_ written on the gates.

It wasn't as fancy as her school, but then again, it was a public school where as Seijo Gakuen was private. Hibiya must have had a later release time because the students were just now milling out. Michiru was about to go back to walking when suddenly a tall, familiar face caught her eye. Haruka Tenoh, the girl who had won the 800 meter yesterday. Michiru's heartbeat sped up. She hid behind a pillar. Haruka was with a group of other girls, though oddly she was wearing a boy's uniform. It looked good on her, but the fit wasn't quite right. Her breasts made the fabric lay strangely. She laughed, apparently at something one of her friends had said. Michiru watched her as she walked towards the parking lot. The feeling of nostalgia was even stronger today seeing her smile.

 _What I would give to have her smile like that at me..._ Michiru tried to stop the thought. What was wrong with her? She had never felt this way before. She watched as Haruka Tenoh put her books in a saddle bag and put on a helmet. Then she mounted a motorcycle and revved it. One of the girls in her group ran up to her and said something. Haruka nodded and the girl got on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around Haruka's torso. Michiru felt a surge of jealousy. It was ridiculous. She didn't know this girl. She had no reason to feel jealous. Haruka Tenoh meant nothing to her...

...but still...

...maybe she could just go say hi...

But even if she did have the courage it was too late. Haruka and her friend and ridden away. Michiru sighed and continued home.

The weekend passed normally. A man had come to pick up her newest painting, and her manager had called telling her of new concerts she was wanted at. She stayed up past 4am Saturday morning talking with her parents over the phone. She had spent the rest of her time either at the beach, at the aquarium, practicing her violin, or painting. But each night the dream of the wave returned. It was getting more realistic with each passing night, and more terrifying. She could start to make out more words in the hissing whisper.

 _Silence is coming...awaken and carry out your mission..._

Awaken? It didn't make sense to her when she was asleep and it made even less sense when she was awake.

The nightmares didn't stop once Monday came. If anything they got worse. She just barely slogged through the school day. She canceled her before school swims with Elsa every day. Something that worried her friend greatly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Elsa kept asking. "If something's wrong, you can tell me!"

"I'm fine. I really am. Just under a lot of stress."

"Maybe you should slow down. You were right before. You do have a lot on your plate. Concerts and art shows and school...it's going to start affecting your health..."

"I can handle it. Don't worry about me."

Elsa didn't seem to like that answer, but she accepted it none the less.

Michiru also developed a new secret ritual. Everyday that week, she walked past Hibiya Junior High on her way home. Everyday she watched from the shadows as Haruka Tenoh got out of school. She had become obsessed with the blonde track star. She started learning little things about Haruka just by watching. Like despite the fact she was too young, she drove a car. Half the time she drove that home from school. Half the time she drove her motorcycle. It depended on which uniform she wore. Sometimes she wore a boy's uniform, sometimes she wore a girl's. She seemed comfortable in either. She was popular. Unlike Michiru who only hung out with Elsa and sometimes a few people from art club, Haruka seemed to always be in the middle of a group of girls. Never boys.

Then after the short walk from the school doors to the parking lot, Haruka Tenoh would get into her car or onto her bike and race away. And Michiru would continue home trying to convince herself she wasn't feeling what she knew she was feeling.

On Friday evening she was practicing her violin alone in her apartment when the door opened. She whipped around, ready to confront an intruder, but it was just Elsa who looked surprised at Michiru's reaction.

"Seriously, Michiru!" Elsa said. "What's the matter? You've been like this all week!"

Michiru shook her head. "I'm fine." She insisted once more, "I've just had a lot on my mind." Elsa gave her a skeptical look but didn't push it any further. She just dug into her bag.

"You dropped this." She said pulling out Michiru's sketchpad. "I figured you might want it over the weekend.

"Thanks." Michiru replied taking the booklet. "I was in a hurry, it must have slipped out of my bag."

Elsa gave a sly grin. "So, I couldn't help but notice you've got a new model? Scouting out my competition for me?"

Michiru felt her heartbeat speed up considerably. She knew what Elsa was talking about. The last few pages of her sketchpad were Haruka Tenoh.

"Wow, look at that blush! I was just joking around, but did I catch on to something? I never knew you were a lady lover."

"I'm not!" Replied Michiru quickly. "Tenoh just has a very aesthetically pleasing form. She's a very interesting person to draw."

"You're just all full of excuses today." Teased Elsa.

Michiru's nose flared. "I don't have to like someone that way to draw them! I draw you all the time!"

"Because I'm your friend."

"Right now I'm beginning to reconsider that..." Mumbled Michiru.

Elsa laughed. She always got so pleased with herself whenever she managed to really ruffle Michiru's feathers.

"It's okay, you're not the only one. A lot of people are obsessed with her. She's even more famous than me around the athletic circuit. If you're going to fall for a girl, you picked the right one."

"I am not falling for her! Stop giving me that look! You gave me my sketchpad so just leave!"

Elsa's face immediately lost it's playfulness. She looked hurt.

"I'm sorry, I was only teasing..."

Michiru calmed down a bit. "No, I'm sorry. I know you were just joking. Like I said, I have a lot going on right now."

"Lets go out tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"You're right, a lot is going on right now. I know your weekends are booked with concerts this month, and with your painting, and entrance exams coming up...We could both use a break. Lets just go hang out like we used to. We could go to the beach or the ice rink...Just get away from work and studying for a little while. We can worry about everything else later."

Michiru felt light at that idea: put worrying aside for a day. Just hang out like she used to before she started doing concerts and art shows. Just spend a day with her best friend. "Alright. That sounds great."


	4. The Beach

**Author's Note:** **Thank you everyone who's reviewed the last three chapters :D It means so much to me when you let me know you like my writing. If you have any suggestions or critiques, let me know as well (Just be nice please)**

Saturday dawned warm and clear, Elsa came by Michiru's apartment at 9.

"All ready?" Asked Elsa, wearing a stripped tank top, red shorts, and sun glasses. Her bag was slung over her shoulder.

"Just about." Michiru replied, as she decided which swimsuit to bring with.

"Hey, is that you're newest painting?" Elsa asked walking over to the easel where Michiru's newest piece was drying. Her carefree smile faded a tiny bit. "Wow, this is quite a bit different than your usual artwork..."

The painting was of Michiru's recurring nightmare. A great dark wave devouring the city.

"You don't like it..."

"No...I mean, it's brilliantly done..." Elsa said, "But what happened to serene planets and pretty star whales?"

"I've been having a nightmare..." Michiru finally confessed, "Over and over again, the same dream. In it I see this. A tsunami, bigger than anything this world has ever seen rising up to end the world..."

"Is that why you've been acting weird lately?"

Michiru nodded. Elsa looked somber for a few moments before she grabbed Michiru's hand, her usual smile returning. "No more disaster movies for you. If a killer wave is going to come and end us all, we can't stand around wasting what's left of our lives worrying about it! The only waves I care about are the ones I can take a surf board to. Come on!"

Despite how long they'd been friend's Elsa's turn on a dime attitude still caught Michiru off guard. Still she couldn't help but feel better at her friend's words. She laughed, "I suppose you're right."

"I always am! Haven't you learned that by now?"

They headed to the beach. The day became exactly what Michiru needed. They rented a sail boat to take out. Elsa insisted on being 'captain' and admittedly, she did a decent job, only capsizing them once. She tried to convince Michiru they should attempt to rent a speed boat, but Michiru reminded her that neither of them had a license and getting arrested for boat theft was _not_ on Michriu's to do list. ("You're _such_ a buzz kill!" Elsa had whined). They got lunch at one of the little food stands and spent most of the late morning sunbathing.

After Elsa had become bored with that, she pulled Michiru to the surf board rental shop. They both rented boards, but Michiru only rode one wave. She preferred to sit on her board with her legs hanging over in the cool water. Elsa didn't mind since she loved few things more than showing off, and surfing was one of her favorite things to show off in. Michiru watched her friend and clapped whenever she did anything that was probably very difficult.

The early afternoon consisted of casual swimming and looking for seashells and other tiny treasures. Michiru couldn't remember having such a good time in months. If only the morning could have lasted forever. For a while it felt like it was going to, but it was too good to be true. People like Michiru didn't get days to just have fun. She wasn't a normal teenager, no matter how much she pretended to be. And today was the day her fantasy finally ended. She couldn't ignore her destiny anymore...

It was when Elsa suggested they get dressed and go to the mall that everything went horribly wrong.

Michiru made her way to the changing tents when she heard someone calling for help. She ran to the direction of the cry. A girl was cowering in the corner of a tent, a huge black creature was towering over her. Instinctively, Michiru pushed the girl towards the entrance of the tent. "Go." She shouted. "Get somewhere safe!" The girl ran off. Michiru was about to flee after her, but an orb light appeared between her and the monster. Inside the orb was a strange metal looking object. It looked like some sort of children's play wand. She had to take it. She wasn't sure why, or how she knew, but she knew she was meant to take it. Her hand reached out and her fingers wrapped around the smooth metal handle. Warmth flooded her body, something felt familiar about this. Without knowing what compelled her to do so, she raised it over her head and said "Neptune Planet Power, Make-up." She felt strange. Her body transformed. Within seconds her swimsuit and sandals were replaced with a sailor uniform and high heels. _Sailor Neptune._ Vague, foggy memories bombarded her mind. She felt sick. She let her body act on it's own accord. She raised her hand up in the air and gathered energy into a sphere. "DEEP SUBMERGE!" The attack left her hand and sped towards the monster. She stumbled back a little bit. Her outfit faded back into a swimsuit. The monster screamed and melted into a young man. He fell on his knees, holding his head in his hand.

"What happened?" He asked. "I feel hungover..."

Michiru was too shocked to move. The man looked at her. "Hey? Are you okay?" He asked, "Did you see what happened? I was just helping my sister and...shit! Asami! Where did you go?"

Michiru didn't reply, she was shaking. "I have to go find my sister! I'll come back with help! Don't move! I'll be right back!" He ran off.

Michiru stared down at the metal rod in her hand. What just happened?

"Michiru? Michiru!" She could hear Elsa calling for her, she had been gone for a lot longer than she should have been. "Michiruuuu!"

Michiru managed to get to the entrance of the tent so that Elsa could see her.

"Michiru! What happened? You look awful!"

"I just need to lay down...I feel sick..." Michiru said, still in a bit of shock. "Can you call a cab? I think I should go home."

Elsa nodded, "Sit down, I'll be right back."

Elsa rode with Michiru to her apartment and helped her inside. "Are you sure you're okay?" She kept asking. "What happened?"

"I'm fine." Michiru would just reply.

"Michiru, what aren't you telling me? Just let me help. It's _me_! You can tell me anything!"

"I know you're trying to help." Michiru replied. "But please, can you just give me some space?"

Elsa looked slightly hurt, but nodded. "Okay. Call me if you need me, okay?"

"Okay."

Michiru sat down and put her head in her hands. What happened? She must have been hallucinating. She must have been. Sailor Neptune? No. The Sailors were urban legends. Publicity stunts, nothing more. Her hand went to her pocket and closed around the cold medal rod. It was real. But it couldn't be.

She went to her bed to lay down for a little while. She ended up falling asleep.

" _Keep up, little one." A beautiful woman in a long silky blue dress walked next to her in the expansive garden that she often visited in dreams._

" _I'm not little!" Michiru replied. "I'm Fifteen Lunar Years old. Nearly a woman!"_

 _The woman smiled. "You'll always be little in my eyes. You're still a babe to me. Green as the day I first held you."_

" _I thought you were supposed to start training me. Not reminiscing about how young you still think I am."_

 _The woman turned to face her. Her eyes were loving but serious. "My love, I know you're excited to start training. But know that you are about to take on a very heavy responsibility. You are my daughter. Which makes you the next Sailor Neptune. But it is not an easy job. It's so much more than glamour and praise. You must be willing to take the lives of every single one of your citizens into your hands. You'll have to make impossible decisions. You'll have to be prepared to kill or die if necessary. There's no turning back. Once you become a Sailor, you are a Sailor until you have a daughter to pass the position down to. Or until you die. Which can happen. We're not gods. We're not invincible. Do you understand that?"_

 _She somberly nodded. "But what if I don't want that responsibility? What if I don't want to be Sailor Neptune."_

" _It's your destiny. You will be Sailor Neptune whether you want to be or not. Just like your a princess whether you want to be or not. It's your birthright."_

" _What if I'm bad at it?"_

 _The woman laughed. "You won't be. I promise." She kissed Michiru's forehead. "Come now, there is much you must learn."_

Michiru woke up. She had dreamed of the strange gardens so many times, but this was the first time she had ever been accompanied. She thought of the woman, as the dream fled the details of the woman's face became harder to picture again. Still the feeling in Michiru's gut knew who she was. _Mother._

No! Michiru's mother was Marketa Kaioh! And she was a good mother. Michiru didn't need any other mother. Yet the woman and her dream had been so familiar. Michiru felt a pang of loneliness. She knew what the dream had been, but she didn't want to admit it. She had never believed in reincarnation. People got one life. Only one. After that...she didn't know, but they didn't get another life. Yet this dream had been a memory from her past life.

 _You will be Sailor Neptune whether you want to be or not._ So that was it. Just like that. She didn't have any choice. All those dreams about the end of the world. She had them for a reason. All her hopes of becoming a great violinist, of touring the world... She had to forsake them. She was destined for something else. Part of her wanted to cry, but she didn't. She gripped the rod still in her pocket. This was her destiny. Like it or not. She would rise up to meet it. She would be strong. She would be Sailor Neptune.


	5. A Harsh Revelation

**Author's Note:** **Thanks for all the great reviews! Someone asked if there was a specific day I uploaded. No. Just whenever I finish a chapter.**

Monday morning came around. Michiru dressed for school, but for some reason she couldn't make herself leave the apartment. She had to go. If she didn't leave soon she would be late. Minutes ticked by and she still didn't move. School would have started by now...

Finally Michiru decided to skip. She had never done so before. But she needed a day off. She would go find a good place to draw instead. She changed out of her uniform and put on street clothes. She took her sketchpad and left the apartment. Her feet took her to Hibiya School, she didn't know why. All the students were in class right now. She found a shaded spot next to a tree, bushes would keep her hidden from anyone so she could draw in private. She drew all morning, trying to remember enough about her dreams to draw the face of her past life's mother. It was difficult, but she finally managed.

Right as she finished up the last details of the woman's face a bell rang. Hibiya students started filling the yard for lunch. Michiru's heart sped up. She hadn't meant to stay so long. Stopping by on her way to school was one thing, but this was stalking. Yet she couldn't make herself leave. If she stood up now someone would see her. How could she explain that? So she stayed still and quite as the students milled around right on the other side of her hiding spot.

The she heard Haruka Tenoh's voice. Even though she had never heard the runner speak before, she knew instantly that it was her.

"...next Saturday. It'll be my first motocross race."

"That's so cool! I thought you had to be 18 to be in those races."

"You do." Haruka replied. "They just created a new category. They're calling it 'Junior racer', it's for people like me who got their licenses over seas."

"Are you racing against other teenagers?"

"Nope. I'm in the normal circuit. So far I'm the only Junior racer."

"And female to boot! Are you the only girl in the race?"

"Yeah, and you can bet that pisses off all those boys." Laughed Haruka. "They're already protesting against me racing! It's hilarious. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when I win."

"Don't be too cocky, Tenoh. Over confidence is the kiss of death."

"You think I'm not fast enough, Sato? Want me to show you how fast I can be?"

"Stop flirting!"

"Where's your race going to be, Haruka? We all want to go and support you."

"The race track in Sumida Ward. It starts at 10 in the morning."

"I'll be there!"

"I won't. Sorry, but I don't get out of bed before noon on Saturdays."

"Yumi, you brat! Where's your sense of loyalty?"

"Sorry, it doesn't wake up until noon on weekends."

"It's okay, I'll tell you all about it."

Michiru stood perfectly still listening to the girls talk and joke. Haruka joked a lot. And laughed a lot. She had a deep hearty laugh that Michiru could listen to all day. They fought over food for a while. A fight which Haruka seemed to win.

At one point the conversation abruptly broke off.

"Haruka? Are you okay?" one of the girls asked.

Michiru dared to strain her neck and see above the bushes. The blond was squeezing the bridge of her nose as if she was having a headache.

"No, I'm fine..." Haruka replied a little disjointedly.

"Those headaches are becoming more frequent, aren't they? You should go see a doctor."

"I said I'm fine." Haruka insisted a bit sharper than her voice had been earlier. "Anyways, Eri, what were you saying?" The conversation picked up again. Finally the bell rang again and they packed up and headed inside. Michiru took a breath of relief. She had been so close.

This was getting out of hand. Michiru realized that. She couldn't keep stalking this woman. It was pathetic. She waited until she was sure everyone was inside before getting up and heading home. Saturday...She had a concert on Saturday, but not until 7pm. She could make it to the motocross race...

 _You really are pathetic._ She thought. She had no choice but to finally admit to herself that she had a crush on Haruka Tenoh. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had known other women who loved women. And men who loved men. She never had any problem with it. To each their own, she thought. But she had always imagined herself with a man. But now...now she imagined herself with Haruka. The thought made her feel warm inside.

She was lost in her own thoughts when she heard someone crying for help. She looked around. The voice was coming from someone's yard. She dropped her sketchpad and jumped over the fence to find who was shouting. An old man was clutching his chest. _Is he having a heart attack?_ She went over to him. "Sir?" She said. "Don't worry, I'll call an ambulance..."

But when he looked up at her his eyes were completely black. Seconds later he morphed into a monster. Michiru stumbled back. Instinctively she grabbed the rod in her pocket.

"NEPTUNE PLANET POWER, MAKE UP!"

For the second time her body transformed into Sailor Neptune. This time she didn't hesitate before shouting "DEEP SUBMERGE!" The sphere of water crashed into the monster. Though this time, when the monster disappeared, the human he came from didn't recover immediately like the boy at the beach. The old man fell face first into the grass. Michiru ran over to him. His breathing was shallow. He was hurt. She had hurt him. He was an old man. Of course his body couldn't take her attack the way the young man had. What could she do? She ran into the house and call for help.

An ambulance arrived and EMTs carried him away.

"Ma'am did you see what happened?" One asked her.

"No..." Michiru lied. "I just heard him call for help and found him like this..."

"Well, it's a good thing you found him. You probably saved his life."

Guilt overwhelmed her. She ran the rest of the way home and didn't stop until the door was closed behind her. She felt even more alarmed now than she had Saturday. The boy on Saturday had recovered. But this man nearly died by her hand. Was this is what it really meant to be Sailor Neptune? She'd have to hurt people. Maybe kill them. Could she do that? She thought of the wave destroying the entire world. The silence ending all life. She would have to. She would do whatever it took to stop the destruction, even if it meant killing. She hated the thought. But she couldn't go back now. She had already decided to take the responsibility of being Sailor Neptune. This was now her cross to bare.

The phone rang causing Michiru to jump slightly in surprise.

She let it ring until the machine picked up.

" _Miss Kaioh, this is Headmaster Hoshizora. We did not receive a notice that you were going to be absent today. Today will count as an unexcused absence. Please remember you are only allowed three unexcused absences in a year. In the future please inform the administration before any absences."_

She would have to deal with that tomorrow. But she didn't care enough to make effort to right now. She felt exhausted. She lay down on the couch staring at her painting of the tsunami. Silence was approaching. Yet she still had to go to school tomorrow. What kind of joke was this? Was this going to be her life? Be a student by day, a violinist by night, and in the meantime fighting monsters and stopping the end of the world?

She was only fifteen. She should be worrying about entrance exams and her newly discovered crush. Not the apocalypse. Worse yet was who could she tell? Not her parents, not Elsa...She had no one to confide in. Michiru had always been the type of person who liked to keep to herself. But for the first time in her life she felt alone.


	6. Motocross

**Author's Note:** **So I'm breaking one of my personal rules. I never post two chapters so close together, but I'm making good head way on this story, so I figured I'd post this one today just for kicks and sniggles. Please PLEASE leave a review. I really want to know what you guys are thinking.**

The following day, Michiru did go to school. She told her teachers she had been sick and forgot to call. Of course they didn't believe her but they didn't press it. Elsa didn't press it either, something that Michiru was incredibly grateful for. Her friend could be persistent if she wanted to. Luckily this time she seemed to accept that Michiru didn't want to talk about it and dropped the subject.

Michiru's dreams were slowly starting to reveal more about Sailor Neptune, a little at a time. Instinct also told her things. She began to release she was developing some level of clairvoyance. She could start to feel when bad things were about to happen. The sea would be rougher and she could feel it's distress. When the sea was calm her day would go normally. When it was upset, she would come in contact with a monster that day. Not all of them were on her way to or from school. Some times she would just feel the need to go somewhere. She couldn't explain why, but she would need to be at a certain place. There would be a monster waiting for her.

She dreaded the days when the sea was rough. But she fought. Her visions of the end of the world kept recurring. _How am I supposed to stop it?_ She kept wondering. _I don't know what I'm meant to do._

Finally another Saturday dawned. Elsa had agreed (and been more than a little excited) to go to the motocross track with Michiru. Of course, Michiru hadn't told her why she had wanted to go or who was racing.

"I knew I'd get you interested in motor sports eventually." Elsa bragged, Michiru letting her believe that this was her influence. "Concerts and art galleries are fine. But you got to appreciate the _real_ beauty of the world every now and again. Speed!"

"What can I say, Elsa, you're a bad influence on me."

They found seats and waited for the races to start. The announcer welcomed them to the event and was proud to introduce today's racers. He read of all the names, Haruka Tenoh's was last.

Elsa looked at Michiru accusingly, "Or maybe I'm not an influence at all. Did you know your girl crush was in this race?"

"She's not my girl crush!"

Elsa smiled slyly. "Mmmhmm..."

"She's not!"

"I can introduce you, you know. We have another race with Hibiya in a couple of weeks."

"I don't have a...she's the first female junior motocross racer in Japan. I just thought that it would be interesting to watch history."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Elsa teased. Michiru was furious. But the race started before she could retort.

The bikes jumped to life with roars. Taking off immediately leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. Haruka pulled ahead almost right away. She lost some speed making the first turn, allowing someone else to get the lead. But she soon regained it. Michiru watched intently, Elsa was cheering with the rest of the crowd. Haruka landed the first jump like a pro, but rounding the second corner the bike next to her spun out and crashed into her. Both bikes and both riders skidded across the ground.

"NO!" Michiru jumped to her feet. Her cry wasn't even heard above the rest of the shouting fans. The driver that spun out didn't get right away, but Haruka wasted no time. She went straight back to her bike, righted it, and rejoined the race. From the surprise of the commentator, apparently this wasn't a common thing to do. Downed racers were supposed to stay down. But not Haruka. She lost a lot of time when she crashed but she soon caught up to the others, despite the fact smoke was coming from her engine.

The crowd was going crazy. Elsa was jumping up and down screaming to Haruka she was almost there. Almost...she was in second place now. Amazing considering how much time she lost. She was coming up on the biker ahead of her. Her front tire was even with his back one...they were so close to the finish line...if only there were a few more meters she would have passed him. His front tire crossed mere seconds before hers.

"DAMN IT!" Elsa cried. "Man! What an amazing story this would have made if she would have pulled off first! Still, second place her first race, that's not bad! _And_ after wiping out! If you don't want her, move over! I might just have a crush on her!"

They went down to see the awards ceremony after the races. Elsa managed to elbow their way to the front. (Elsa was very good at elbowing her way through crowds. Michiru suspected her rudeness had something to do with her American upbringing.)

Haruka stood on the second place platform. She didn't seem bitter about her loss. She was talking and joking with the man who beat her. Half of her jumpsuit was burned, her hair was ruffled and sticking up with sweat and blood. She had fresh stitches on her forehead, not many, just two. She held her helmet under one of her arms. It was cracked, the glass of the visor was completely shattered. But she was in good spirits. Michiru could almost feel the high coming off the young racer.

All around them people were talking about Haruka. They didn't even seem to care about the boy who got first. They were all gawking at this newcomer. Some of the comments were positive, others not so much.

" _...a woman! I can't believe a woman won!"_

" _She's just a kid, too, isn't she? I heard she's only like 15 or 16."_

" _This is ridiculous! She should be suspended for breaking the rules. Riding with that much damage to her bike was reckless and dangerous!"_

" _What are you talking about? She's badass!"_

Michiru couldn't keep her eyes from the smiling blonde. _She's so happy. The way I was after my first concert. I can never go after her. She doesn't deserve to be caught up in this messy life I've found myself in._

"Lets go." She whispered to Elsa.

"What? Don't you want to stay and congratulate her?"

"No. I have to get ready for my concert tonight."

Elsa looked a little torn. As if part of her wanted to tell Michiru to go on without her. But loyalty won out and Elsa nodded. "Alright. Come on."

They stopped by a restaurant to grab a quick lunch before heading to Michiru's apartment to get her violin. The venue was empty when they got there, but someone had already laid out Michiru's outfit for tonight's show. A soft, silky white dress that fell a little above her knees. The shoes left out were practical but pretty white flats. It was an outfit picked out for dexterity. So she was expected to dance at this performance. It would have been nice if her manager would have warned her ahead of time. She typically liked dancing around the stage while she played, doing tricks to impress her audience. But today she didn't feel like she had the mental energy for it.

But she didn't have a choice. This was what she got paid for.

While Michiru changed, Elsa fiddled around with her perfumes and makeup. Only stopping when Michiru threatened, "You break any of those bottles, your paying to replace them."

"Some of these cost more than my parents make in a month!" She retorted.

"Better leave them alone then."

Elsa herself had a pink cocktail dress that she wore to all of Michiru's concerts, but she never changed until right before she had to leave to get her seat. She helped Michiru put her hair up, and sat on the counter munching on the complementary snacks while Michiru put on make-up.

"So, we race against Tenoh's school again on Wednesday." Elsa said through a mouthful of brownie. "I can introduce you to her if you'd like."

Michiru's hands froze midway through applying her eyeliner. "Why would I like that? I already told you, I'm not interested in her like that. I just appreciate her skills."

"For such a high class girl you sure are a dirty, dirty liar." Elsa commented. "Come on. Just say hi. I know you've been thinking about her since we left the racetrack."

Michiru didn't reply, she just went back to putting on her eyeliner.

"Oh come on, Michiru! I can't stand you looking so distant anymore...I mean, more distant than usual. I know it started when you first saw Tenoh. You're like a love sick puppy!"

There was so much more to Michiru's distance than Haruka Tenoh, but she wasn't about to admit that. "I will think about it." Was all she chose to reply.


	7. Past and Present

**Authors Note** **Thank everyone so much for your support thus far, and Sango-chan, never apologize for reviewing too much :D I live on a steady diet of reviews and cheetos. I need your guys' reviews to fuel my egomania...I mean...to fuel my creative process XD anyways, I had two short little chapters that I decided to just put together into one. Hope you like it. Remember, please review...or send me more cheetos...**

Neptune went flying across an alley and hit a brick wall hard. Her head was spinning. She felt like she was going to vomit. The creature she was fighting had surprised her and hit her hard across the chest with it's tree-truck sized tail. Before she could regain her equilibrium, it rammed her again in the stomach. This time she did vomit blood and bile. She wiped her mouth with her gloved hand. The monster readied to attack again, but this time she was faster.

"DEEP SUBMERGE!"

The monster shrieked and fell to the ground. This time it was a little girl, probably not even out of elementary school. She struggled with ragged, shallow breaths. _I went to hard again._ Neptune thought, letting her sailor uniform fade. _I'm so sorry, little one._

She lifted the girl into her arms and stumbled to the nearest open shop. The shop owner looked at her when the bell rang and immediately dropped what he was doing to run over. "Miss! What happened? Are you okay?"

"Can you call an ambulance for this child?" Michiru asked weakly.

"Yes, sit down...stay here..." He ran off. Michiru put the child on the floor and limped to the door. "No, miss! You need help too!"

"I'm fine." She replied. "Please just take care of that child."

She made it home and looked in the mirror. A long ugly bruise was already forming on her chest and stomach. She was likely bleeding internally, she should go to a doctor but what could she tell them? Besides since she became Sailor Neptune she's been healing at lightning fast speed.

She dropped on the couch, exhausted. "I can't keep doing this by myself." She said to herself. This was going to kill her. Or drive her to kill someone else.

She picked up her phone and started to dial her parents' number before hanging up halfway through. She couldn't call Elsa either. She didn't have anyone else to call. She wasn't just alone in her fight, she was alone in her life as well. She couldn't talk to anyone about this.

She took out the rod and looked at it. It was so light yet it carried so much weight. Damn it. Damn the stupid thing straight to Hell. She should have never picked it up. She threw it at the wall. It hit and landed with a small thud. She wasn't sure why she had expected anything else to happen. If the decorative dome on top was at all breakable it would have shattered by now with all the fights she's been in. Besides, if it did break a new one would probably just reappear the next time she had to use it.

She thought about Sailor Moon and the others. She hadn't come across them yet, and they hadn't been in the news recently. Still, should she try to seek them out? They seemed a bit younger than her. She wasn't sure whether they were real or products of the media. But if they were real then at least she would have someone to ally herself with.

No. She didn't even know where to start looking for them. And she wanted to avoid media attention if at all possible. She was in this alone. There was no way around that. She looked over to her school bag brimming with homework. She didn't have the energy to even think about getting up to do it. Usually when she was upset she's either paint or compose. But right now she was too sore to even do those things. Her easel and violin just sat in the corner, reminding her of what she was going to have to give up.

She rolled over and closed her eyes, she didn't even have the energy to make it to her bedroom.

" _Neptune? NEPTUNE!" Michiru opened her eyes. She was in the now familiar garden, but it was not the peaceful place she had dreamed of so many times before. Fires burned all around her. The palace was ruins. The thick scent of sulfur tainted the air. A panicked, ash-covered face looked down at her. Short blonde hair spiked up with sweat and bloody._

" _Ur-ranus..."_

 _Relief flooded the girl's dusty blue eyes. "Come on, we have to retreat."_

" _No!" Michiru responded. "If we retreat my planet will be lost."_

" _It's already lost. I'm sorry but there's nothing else we can do here. The Queen sent out the order. We're to pull all the way back Miranda Castle and wait for reinforcements."_

" _I can't leave my people!"_

" _Most of the civilians have been evacuated."_

" _Most, not all."_

" _You dying with them won't make their deaths any more meaningful!"_

" _I don't care! My parents are dead, I'm the ruler of this planet now. A ruler doesn't run."_

" _I_ won't _let you die!" Uranus said fiercely. "If I have to knock you out and_ drag _you through this war, I will. You can't leave me! I won't allow it!" Michiru looked up at Uranus in surprise. "We made it this far together. We can make it the rest of the way. I can't do it without you."_

 _Michiru tried to stand, but her leg was broken. Uranus picked her up into a bridal hold and carried her from the fighting._

 _The dream changed._

 _She was back to back with Uranus, surrounded by enemies. "Looky here, Neptune. You have some admirers who want to play. Sorry, boys, but she's mine, I don't share."_

" _Is this really the time for jokes?" Michiru asked._

" _They seem to think so. Look at them with their pathetic little swords trying to scare us. I've never seen anything funnier in my life." Michiru could almost feel her partner's smugness. "They've obviously never crossed blades with a Uraninan sword master. Let alone the guardian of Uranus."_

" _Your hubris is charming, little princess." A man said. "But it will get you both killed. Surrender now and we'll let you live. We'll even let you keep most of your limbs."_

" _I'm not a princess any longer. I'm a_ senshi." _She attacked and Michiru followed suit, trusting her partner completely. They would either fight and win together or lose and die together._

 _The dream shifted again._

 _Michiru was in the ruins of an amethyst palace with Uranus and another Sailor. Sailor Pluto. They were friends...A young girl with dead violet eyes stood before them. The same girl Michiru had seen in other dreams..._

" _The war is over." She said. "There's nothing left but to return it to the silent void."_

 _Uranus reached out for Michiru and pulled her close. They wouldn't be separated now. Even if this was their final moments, they would be together. "I'll never let you go." Uranus promised. Michiru's fingers dug into Uranus's back as she hugged her as close as she could. Uranus put her hand on Michiru's chin and made her look up. Their lips met. The taste of salty tears and rose water._

" _Don't cry. We'll be together again." Uranus vowed quietly into Michiru's ear. "I'll find you in our next life no matter what. I promise."_

 _Michiru nodded. Uranus buried her face in Michiru's hair as Saturn brought down her glaive and darkness swallowed the world._

Michiru woke with a start. Her heart was pounding. She put her hand over it only to aggravate the angry bruise that still covered most of her chest.

"Uranus..." She said out loud. She wasn't alone back then. She hadn't fought by herself. Uranus had been the princess from the planet next to her. They had spent most of their life visiting each other. They had been best friends, partners, and then...not lovers, not really...they had never gotten the chance for that. They had died so young.

Did her dream mean Uranus was out there looking for her? Or maybe still unaware of who she was? Michiru felt hopeful for the first time in weeks.

The next day Michiru was walking back from school. After the motocross race, when Michiru finally accepted that she cared too much about Haruka Tenoh to risk getting her caught up in the mess Michiru found herself in, she had stopped going by Hibiya on her way home. But today something compelled her to do so one last time. She walked by just as the bell rang. Moments later the doors opened and students milled out.

Haruka was with her usual group of friends. She still had a scar on her forehead from her crash, but the stitches must have been taken out. For a second Michiru remembered what Haruka looked like on the stand. Her face beaming despite the dirt covering it and her hair stuck up with blood and sweat...but then she saw another face in her mind's eye. It wasn't Haruka. It was Uranus, the desperate face from her dream, pleading with her to keep going.

Michiru took a step back. No. It couldn't be! But now that she made the connection nothing could shake it. She could feel that she was right. Haruka Tenoh was Sailor Uranus.

 _Not her! Please, anyone but her!_ Haruka seemed happy. Her easy smile, her confidence on and off the race track, her deep hearty laugh...She had a future. A bright future. She could change the world of racing. She was the one person Michiru didn't want to see give up on their life.

But still... _Uranus was my partner._.. Michiru thought of the kiss that she had relived in her dreams over and over again. She thought of Haruka Tenoh looking at her the way Uranus had looked at Neptune. Love and concern filling those dusty blue eyes. _I'll find you in our next life no matter what._ All the secrets Michiru couldn't share with anyone else. All of the feelings she kept locked away. She and Haruka would have them in common. They would rely on each other exclusively. She couldn't lie. That idea made her happy. Excited even. It was selfish, she knew, but she couldn't help it.

She took a few steps forward, but Haruka was already getting into her car. _I can't just walk up to her anyways. What would I say?_

Then she got an idea. She turned and ran back to the direction of her school. Then down a street to a residential neighborhood. She passed rows and rows of houses until she found the right one.

She took a second to calm herself and make sure she looked composed before knocking. Mrs. Gray opened the door.

"Why Michiru, dear!" Mrs. Gray said, "I haven't seen you in a while. I'm making dinner, are you going to stay?"

"Sure." Michiru replied. "Is Elsa home yet?"

"Yes, I'll call her." Mrs. Gray stood out of the way so Michiru could come in. "Elsa! Michiru's here."

Elsa appeared from the stairs. "Hey...what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just..." Michiru was aware Mrs. Gray was standing there.

"Lets go upstairs." Elsa suggested.

Michiru nodded and they went up to Elsa's room. Elsa shut the door. "Is something the matter?"

"No." Michiru said, her face was starting to turn red. "But...you remember how you offered to introduce me to Haruka Tenoh at your next race against her school..."

Elsa smiled wickedly. "Yeah...You finally ready to admit you have a crush on her?"

"No!" Michiru lied, fully aware that she couldn't stop the blush from spreading even further across her face. "But I would like to draw her close up."

"A nude drawing?"

"ELSA!"

Elsa's grin didn't subside. "I'm teasing. Of course I'll introduce you. We race against them on Wednesday. And I actually get to run against her this time. Will you still have a crush on her after I beat her?"

"Cockiness isn't becoming."

"It's called confidence in the States."

"Well you're in Japan now, and it's called obnoxious."

Elsa just laughed.


	8. First Meeting

Michiru stood in the stands that Wednesday. The first couple of races had already finished. Elsa and the other runners were stretching for the 400 meter. Michiru watched as Elsa spoke with Haruka. Her stomach did a somersault. _Please, Elsa, for the love of God don't tell her anything embarrassing._ It didn't seem like it. Their conversation was too brief to be significant.

They took their marks. Michiru was clutching handfuls of skirt in her fists. _Who do I cheer for? Who do I want to win this?_ The answer should have been Elsa, but a terrible traitorous part of her was cheering for Haruka. The race started and Elsa and Haruka were neck and neck for a while, then Haruka pulled ahead. By a little at first, then a lot. She crossed the finish line a good five seconds before Elsa.

Michiru was worried about her best friend loosing. Elsa had never lost before. But she looked over and Elsa seemed to be in good spirits, joking with some of the other racers. Michiru was relieved. Elsa won her next few events, and Haruka won hers. After the medal ceremony Elsa waved for Michiru to come down.

All the runners from both teams were getting their sweatsuits on and packing up to leave. Haruka had her back turned to them.

"Haruka Tenoh!" Elsa called, the tall blonde stood up and looked at her. Michiru's heart was beating up in her throat, but she was determined to look calm and cool. "I've heard rumors about you. You really _are_ as good as they say. I have someone I would like to introduce you to." Haruka turned her full body to look, "Come on over, Michiru!"

Michiru took a few steps forward, smiling softly. She noticed Haruka's eyes widen. Suddenly she felt a spark. A flash of familiarity. The comfort and companionship that she had felt in so many of her dreams. She was sure Haruka must have felt it too.

"This is Michiru Kaioh." Elsa introduced. "She's really intelligent _and_ she's said to be a prodigious painter." Leave it to Elsa to have to call her a prodigy during what should have looked like a casual introduction. "She said she's interested in you." Michiru resisted the urge to shoot Elsa a dirty look. _This is my friend, Michiru Kaioh._ How hard was that simply line? Were all Americans unable to say a simple sentence without embellishments or just the one she knew?

Michiru walked to be face to face with Haruka, cutting Elsa off from any more 'endorsements' she might be tempted to make.

"You're not sweating at all." Michiru observed. "Perhaps you were holding back quite a bit?" If she really was Sailor Uranus, running in such short events wouldn't phase her at all.

"What do you mean?" Asked Haruka, looking as if she was deciding on whether or not to take that as an insult.

"Can't you hear the sound of the wind rustling?"

Her reaction confirmed what Michiru had already been sure of. Her eyes grew wider. Her posture straightened. Then her eyes hardened. She visibly went on the defensive. Michiru worried she had chosen the wrong words. She prayed that Haruka wouldn't reject her. _Remember your words_. Michiru wanted to shout. _Remember how you promised to find me again. How you promised we would be together again._ But revulsion filled Haruka's face. She picked up her bag and threw it over her shoulder. "You're weird." She said turning away. "What do you want with me?"

Michiru had to try, she couldn't lose her chance. "Would you be a model for one of my drawings?" Maybe if she could make this look like a professional venture she could save some face.

"I'll pass." Haruka said, "I don't like that kind of stuff."

She walked away without looking back. Michiru stood frozen watching her go. "Mich..." Elsa touched her shoulder. Michiru didn't even react. _She felt it. She felt the connection we had and didn't even care. You broke your promise, Uranus. You didn't try to find me. And when I found you, you turned away..._

"Michiru, don't waste tears over her!" Elsa said. Michiru hadn't even realized she was crying. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry. She promised herself that after she became Sailor Neptune she wouldn't be so fragile to cry. Particularly not in front of others. But today seemed to be the day for broken promises. She covered her face. "Mich, don't! She's a jerk! She isn't worth it!"

"Kaioh?"

"What's the matter with Kaioh?"

"Gray, is she okay?"

"Mind your own business!" Elsa snapped. "Come on, Michiru, people are starting to stare. I'll bring you home."

Michiru let Elsa lead her out of the crowded arena and got a cab to Michiru's apartment. Michiru managed to stop crying. But she remained silent the rest of the ride home. She remained silent on the elevator ride up.

When the door opened, she sat down on her couch. Elsa closed the door and looked at her with concern. "Michiru, she's a jerk. I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you. If I'd known..."

Michiru shook her head. "It's not that..."

"Michiru..."

"I'm fine." She lied. "I'm fine."

"Want me to order some food?"

"I just want to be alone."

"Michiru..."

"Elsa, I'm okay. I really am."

"I know you are." Elsa said, "You're always okay. You're the most okay person I know. But, if you need to be not okay for a little while, I'm here."

Michiru managed a small smile for her friend. "I know you are. You're a great friend. Thank you. But I just need to be alone to think for a little while."

Elsa hesitated. "Okay, but call me if you need me."

"I will."

Elsa left and Michiru sat for a long time looking out the window. She could see the ocean from here. It was calm, at least one good thing about today, she wouldn't have to fight.

She couldn't get Haruka's hard glare out of her mind. Maybe she wasn't ready to accept her destiny yet. Michiru couldn't blame her. That didn't make it any easier. She couldn't be alone any longer. After she discovered that Uranus was out there...after she discovered _who_ Uranus was...she wanted nothing more than to reunite with her. At the very least to have someone to help her fight. Maybe more. But she screwed up. And she might not ever get another chance.


	9. From Elsa's Perspective

**Author's Note:** **Oops! Sorry! I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging for two weeks! But lets be fair, I've told you guys I live off reviews. And I've barely gotten any last chapter. So kick my butt into gear and leave me some inspiration! This chapter's short, but tomorrow I'll update a longer chapter.**

Elsa was surprised to see Michiru at school the next day. She was somber and quiet all day, but she still showed up. Which Elsa wasn't positive she would even do. But people were talking. All day whispers followed them. Someone even had the gall to ask Elsa about Michiru's breakdown at the track.

"Piss off! It's none of your business!" was all Elsa said in reply.

Michiru barely spoke at lunch. She went straight home afterwards. Elsa gave her space but was worried all weekend. On Monday, Michiru was more like herself, something Elsa was relieved to see. "By the way, my next concert is on a yacht. You'll need tickets just to get on. Here are yours. It's going to be a bunch of stuffy overdressed rich people, but dinners going to be fantastic."

Elsa was glad to see her friend smile again. The next couple of days passed normally. But walking home from track practice Wednesday afternoon Elsa saw someone that made her good mood disappear.

Haruka Tenoh was waiting outside the track.

Elsa walked up and glared. "What do you want?" She demanded.

"You're friend Kaioh, she's a musician right?"

"Why is it any of your concern?" asked Elsa. "You've made it clear that you don't what anything to do with her. So just stay away from her."

"I was an ass." Haruka admitted. "I want to apologize, but I don't know how to get a hold of her. And I don't want to embarrass her at school again. I figured if I went to one of her concerts I could talk to her afterwards."

Elsa continued to glare at her. She wanted to punch the blonde out, but she knew deep down that Michiru hadn't given up on wanting to talk to her.

"She has a concert this weekend on a yacht. I don't know whether or not their sold out though."

Haruka visibly flinched. "A yacht? That sounds spendy..."

"I wouldn't know, she always gets me in for free. I think it's around 60,000 yen."

"60,000 yen?! Never mind. There's no way I could afford that, that's my rent for the next three months..." She turned to walk away. Elsa wanted to just let her go, but she thought of how desperately Michiru had wanted to talk to her. How upset she had been when Haruka had blown her off.

"Tenoh, wait." Elsa called. "Michiru always gets me tickets. Here. Ship leaves at 6pm sharp. Directions are in the envelope. It's a black tie affair, but overnight clothes rentals aren't that expensive."

Haruka looked at Elsa in shock. "Are you sure?"

Elsa couldn't honestly answer that. She had never been less sure about anything in her life. "If you hurt her again, I will hurt you."


	10. Confrontation at the Concert

**Author's Note:** **Hey everybody. Thanks for all the nice reviews and questions. :D An anon asked me why Haruka was poor when she's rich in the anime. Don't worry. It will be explained, but remember, this is before we meet them in the anime. Their lives are slightly different than what we see.**

When Elsa had told Michiru what she had done, Michiru couldn't decide whether to hug her or strangle her.

Now as she sat in her dressing room, double checking to make sure her violin was in tune, she could feel butterflies angrily flapping about in her stomach.

"Five minutes to stage, Kaioh." Her manager told her. She nodded. Maybe Haruka hadn't even made it. Maybe she had chickened out. Or maybe she had never intended to go, she was just trying to screw with Michiru. No, in spite of everything else, Michiru couldn't make herself believe that Haruka was that cruel.

"Kaioh, darling, come on! We're about to raise the curtain!" Michiru took her violin and made her way to the stage. She heard herself being announced and took her place. The curtain went up. At first the lights were too bright for Michiru to see who was in the audience right away, but soon her eyes adjusted and she could subtly look through the crowd. The faces mostly blurred together, but after a few sweeps she was able to pick out Haruka.

The short haired blonde was sitting alone at a middle table, watching her intently. Michiru tried to ignore her as much as she could, going on with her set as if this was just a normal concert.

About halfway through Michiru noticed Haruka stood up and left. Oddly, this didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom. Or maybe she just wasn't a fan of classical music. Either way, she couldn't get too far. At the very least she was stuck on board until the ship docked again in a few hours.

After a few more songs Michiru drew her performance to a close, bowing politely at the applause. The act after her was announce and she took her leave. She dropped her violin off at the dressing room before letting her feet guide her down one of the ships passageways. Her newest painting was hanging in a stairwell. It was the one of the end of the world. She sat down. She wasn't sure why, but she knew that Haruka would find her way there.

Michiru sat for a long time, maybe she was wrong. Maybe Haruka wasn't going to come down this way after all...but then...

She heard shoes on marble. She looked up. Haruka didn't seem to see her. She was looking at the painting.

"Do you find it to your liking?" Michiru asked. Haruka didn't turn her head. "Thank you for coming tonight. Miss Haruka Tenoh, the prodigious racer." It was her small attempt at humor. After all, Elsa had introduced Michiru as a prodigious painter, so Michiru felt like it was only right to acknowledge Haruka's own accomplishment.

"You seem to know a bit about me..." Haruka replied. Her voice wasn't as harsh as it had been their last meeting, but it wasn't friendly either. "This piece...did you paint it?"

Michiru dodged the second question. "You're quite famous." She replied. "There are a lot of freakish fans of yours at my school as well. One of them is a girl, but she says she still wants to go cruising along the beach in your car." Of course Michiru would never admit that she was that girl.

Haruka smirked a bit at this but didn't turn from the picture. She brought the conversation back to it. "The end of the world, huh? I'm surprised that a well-to-do girl who can't even kill a bug could draw such a tragic fantasy."

Michiru's nostrils flared. How dare Haruka judge her so quickly! She didn't know a damn thing about her! "It's not a fantasy! I can see _that_ scene clearly! Just like you can..."

Finally Haruka turned to glare at her. The same hard, hateful glare as the day at the racetrack. Only there was no one else around and now that Michiru had called her out, Haruka couldn't deny it. Michiru stood up, returning Haruka's look with one of vexation. She wasn't going to accept being blown off again. She cared about Haruka. It was stupid, but she did. In spite of everything, she didn't want her to have to share this burden. But she would not allow her to deny it anymore. Silence was approaching. Michiru needed Haruka's help.

"This is stupid!" Haruka said finally breaking eye contact. "I'm Haruka Tenoh, the first junior racer in Japan. Memories of my previous life or the end of the world have nothing to do with me. If someone has to do it then _you_ can do it! And I would like you to stop investigating me like that!"

Michiru could have slapped her in anger. She had been trying for weeks to keep Haruka out of this. She had tried her hardest to protect her. Breaking herself just to keep Haruka whole. And now Haruka didn't even...how could Michiru have fallen for such a cold hearted woman? "Don't say such selfish things like that! I don't want to do it either! I also have dreams! To become a violinist! I can't do something stupid like saving the world from destruction."

"Then don't!" Shouted Haruka back. "Whatever this is, it has nothing to do with us! We don't own anything to anyone!"

"So you would just sit back while the world is destroyed?"

"Even if I wanted to do anything, what could I do?" Demanded Haruka. "I'm sixteen! I'm not a soldier! You aren't either! These dreams...they're just that! Dreams! It's not real! They don't mean anything."

"They mean _everything!_ " retorted Michiru. "You know they do!"

"I know that my life is happening now! Not in some vague half formed memories of a different life and not in some cryptic future. I'm not going to give up on my dreams to chase shadows! And I'm not going to waste my time with some prissy, high society girl who can't even tell the difference between dreams and reality! I should have never come here!"

Hot, angry tears brimmed in Michiru's eyes. "You're right! You shouldn't have! You have no place here! Go back to your stupid race track! Ride your stupid bike until you crash and break your neck! I won't bother you again!"

"Good! I hope you're happy with your macabre fantasies!"

She stormed away. Michiru was left alone once more on the stairs. "Damnit!"


	11. Dreams From Another Life

**Author's Note:** **Hey everybody! I'm so glad so many of you reviewed last chapter, it honestly means so much to me! Here's the next one, it's short, it doesn't really move the story along, but it was fun as Hell to write, just a little peek into the past. :D**

 ***Note: to anyone who's not an astronomy nerd like I am, Sedna is a dwarf planet on the very edge of our solar system, it's farther out than any other planet, at it's perihelion (point closest to the sun) it's still 3 times further out than Pluto.**

All Michiru wanted to do was to hate Haruka Tenoh. She wanted to hate her with every fiber of her being. Hate her, hate the memory of Uranus, hate all of it. But that night her dreams found her in the garden behind Triton Castle once more.

 _Petals fell on the page of the book Michiru was reading. She wiped them off, then some more...soon they covered her hair and made reading impossible. "Will you stop?" She asked trying to hide her laughter as she looking up in the tree above her. Uranus was casually sitting on a branch, shaking petals down with a wicked smile._

" _I finally get away to come visit you and you can't keep your nose out of a book long enough to even acknowledge me."_

" _I'm studying, something_ you _should be doing, as well!"_

 _Uranus jumped down from the tree and took the seat next to Michiru, snatching the book away. "I should do that. But I always thought I was meant to be the bad influence..." She teased, her face inches from Michiru's. Michiru's face felt warm. "Come on, Sallie, you're too pretty to be hiding away in a book all the time."_

 _Michiru turned away, "It's not me you should be worried about. Because if you don't study and fail your exam, there's no way your parents will let you succeed them as the ruler of Uranus. If you don't get to rule Uranus, what do you plan to do? You'd have to marry well if you want any chance of remaining royal or even noble, and I know you don't want to rely on something like marriage for your future. I don't even think there's anyone in the Silver Millennium that you would ever be content with marrying."_

" _I could marry you." teased Uranus. Michiru's face was burning with blush now. Uranus always said things like that to her, as much as she wished she could just play them off, they always made her heart race._

" _No," Michiru said snatching the book back, "because if you don't let_ me _study I won't pass either and then we'll both be screwed."_

" _Hmm..." Uranus was playing with Michiru's hair now. Something that she always loved despite it sending her heart into a fury. "Well, if worst comes to worst, on paper you could marry Prince Renly and I could marry Sir Loras and we could move to Sedna. They could be together and we could be together. Everyone's happy."_

" _You have this all figured out, don't you?"_

" _What? Loras and Renly are our friends, and their never going to come out. The distant planets aren't as progressive as we are here. They're in love, we're in love, this way everyone can be with who the want to be with and still be all well and proper."_

" _What even makes you think I'm in love with you?" Demanded Michiru._

" _Because you are," Uranus replied with a smile that could break through any of Michiru's acts._

" _But Sedna though...I don't think I could love anyone enough to move to Sedna for."_

" _What's wrong with Sedna?"_

" _I could never stand living somewhere where the sun is only a pin prick in the sky every 2000 years."_

" _Picky."_

" _I like light! I prefer the light from Neptune, but if I have to move to a different planet I want to get_ closer _to the sun, not further away!"_

" _No loyalty, I swear..."_

" _Well good thing I'm going to get a chance to study so I won't fail my exam and have to move to Sedna." Michiru said._

 _Uranus smiled. "I would though, you know. Seriously. I would move anywhere to be with you."_

 _Michiru looked at her, "Enough teasing, now."_

" _I'm not." Uranus's face was soft and sincere. Michiru's heart was almost ready to jump out of her chest now. Uranus always said things, but Michiru could never tell if they were jokes or not. And she didn't dare admit her own feelings in case Uranus_ was _really only teasing. But her face now made it clear that the joking was over. What she was saying now was real. "I'd follow you anywhere. If you were there, I wouldn't care where I lived. Uranus, Neptune, Sedna, or even the depth of Hell, anywhere with you would be..."_

 _Before she could finish Michiru leaned forward and kissed her. Her lips were chapped, but still soft. They tasted like the sweet summer fruits that grew in the ice field's of Uranus's home planet. They had never kissed before. But their lips meshed together like they had done it a thousand times before. They were never meant to kiss anyone else._

The sweet taste of Uranus's breath was still in Michiru's mind when she woke up. A pang of longing worse than ever before. It crippled Michiru's entire being. She just wanted to forget about Haruka and Uranus. But her dreams made that impossible. In her past life she had loved Uranus more than life itself. Now, her heart missed her so much it ached.


	12. A Best Friend's Intuition

**Author's Note:** **BLAH! Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews! As always, it means the world to me. Next chapter is the half way point as well as the turning point.**

Michiru wasn't at all surprised that on Monday, Elsa was ready to ambush her right away. "I called you ten times!" She said. "Why didn't you pick up? Did Tenoh show up? Did you talk?"

Michiru didn't reply. She just gathered her supplies for her first class of the day.

"Michiru! You have to tell me what happened!"

"I don't feel like talking about it."

Elsa's face dropped and slowly turned to anger. "She hurt you again, didn't she? What did she say? I'll kill her!"

"El...Please, just drop it."

"I'm sorry..." Elsa said, looking truly upset. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have given her that ticket..."

"It's not...it's just..." Michiru didn't have the energy to come up with a lie. "It's not going to work out. So drop it."

She turned away, but the next thing she knew, Elsa's arms were around her pulling her into a hug. Despite how crappy she was feeling, Michiru couldn't help but feel a little better. She hugged Elsa back. "I don't need her anyways." Michiru said. "I've got you."

"Damn right." Elsa replied.

But the week only got worse. Entrance exams were coming up fast and the teachers were buckling down on homework. On top of that, Michiru was finding herself in fights nearly everyday. She felt like all these monsters were just a distraction from something bigger coming just out of sight, but there was only so much she could do on her own. Any dreams that might give her a direction as to where to look for the cause of this trouble were vague and hard to remember. She was getting better and better at reading the waves, but that only told her when trouble was coming, not what was causing it.

The following week was even worse. Her dreams got so bad that she had tried her best to stop sleeping all together. It was terrible for her, she knew, but the dreams were becoming too hard to handle. She felt her body become worn out. She felt sick all the time, but she was determined not to let anyone else see this. Only Elsa seemed to pick up on it. She watched her friend carefully, but whenever she tried to talk to Michiru, Michiru would make an excuse. She would carry this burden alone. She had to. She wouldn't let anyone get involved least of all her friend. Luckily most of the injuries only lasted a few hours, though some of the bad ones stuck around for days.

The only solace was that school break was coming up. She would have nearly a three weeks to rest with at least one less thing to worry about. Though teachers reminded them that this time was to be used to study for their entrance exams and piled on homework so they wouldn't forget that fact.

"Do you have any plans for break?" Elsa asked during lunch of their last day. They were sitting together on the roof. Michiru was sitting close to the edge just able to see the ocean, thankful for its calmness today.

"Concerts and homework."

"More concerts? You should be taking a break. Relax for once. You're running yourself into the ground."

"Relaxing isn't really an option at the current moment." Michiru said.

"It could be." said Elsa. "My parents and I are going back home to Boston for break to visit my grandma. My cousin was supposed to come with us but something came up. We still have her extra ticket. We have a layover in New York. Come with us that far. Spend the break with your folks, I know you miss them. And they would be thrilled to have you. I think it would make you feel better."

Michiru seriously considered it. She wanted to. She wanted to so badly. She imagined running into her mother's arms. Being held like she was a little girl again. Being safe. Away from all this fighting and chaos. Just getting away from it all. From Sailor Neptune, from her lonely apartment, from thoughts of Haruka stupid Tenoh.

"I can't. I really wish I could, but I can't."

"Why not? Because of concerts? Screw them! Your manager has you over worked! You're still a teenager! Is it even legal how much he makes you work?"

"It's not just that. I can't just drop in on my parents. They aren't like yours. Their schedules are always full. Even if I did go, I would just end up sitting alone in their house seeing them at five minute intervals while they changed and got ready for another event. Maybe I'd be lucky and they'd squeeze in one dinner with me, but other than that I'd just be all alone in a foreign city. Why do you think I stayed on my own anyways? I was basically on my own living with them, only this way I didn't have to pack up and move every few years."

"Then come to Boston with me and my family." pressed Elsa. "My parents love you, I'm sure my grandma will too. We'll have fun. I'll show you all the places I used to hang out. We can visit Harvard! They have a fantastic art museum that I know you'll just love! And there's this park where I used to hang out by the Harbor, maybe we could even rent a boat..."

"I wish I could, Elsa." Michiru interrupted. "I really do."

"You can!"

"No. I can't. And you know I can't."

"Michiru..." Elsa's eyes were wide with concern. "Please tell me what's up with you lately. For the past few months you've...I don't even know. But it's more than just over exhaustion, isn't it? Something's up. Something that you won't tell me, or that you can't tell me. I've tried to sit back. I figured it would work itself out, but...I'm afraid if I leave you I'll come back in three weeks to find you dead."

Damn Elsa. She was so much more perceptive than she pretended to be. There was a reason Michiru didn't let people in. They just ended up getting hurt by her. "I want to tell you." Michiru admitted. "I really do."

"Then tell me!" Elsa pleaded. "I promise, you can trust me!"

"It's not that. I know I can trust you. But it's more complicated than that."

"Then, just come with me. You don't have to tell me what's been going on. I promise, I won't ask again. Just come with me to Boston. Even if it won't solve whatever is going on, it will at least give you three weeks away."

"I can't, Elsa. I just can't."

"Mich..."

"Lunch is almost over." Michiru said, gathering up her stuff. "I have to go."


	13. Fate Arrives at Last

**Author's Note:** **Hey, now for the chapter everyone has been badgering me about :D This marks the half way point. I hope you all have enjoyed the first half, and will continue to stick with me through part 2! As always, please review!**

The waves were roaring the next day. Something big was coming her way. _No_...Michiru thought, _Just let me sleep. Just give me one Saturday._..

She got out of bed, despite how much she wanted to just pull the covers over her head and let whatever was going to happen happen without her. She walked to her window to look out at the ocean. Angry waves were visible even from here. The sky was gray over the water. _Something's going to happen..._ She thought. _Something different than what's happened yet._ She felt a claw of dread in her belly. Then suddenly, only for a second she saw the image of a girl racing on a motorcycle race across the waves. Her heart stopped. _Haruka..._

Something was going to happen to the racer today. Michiru didn't know what, but something. She hurried to get dressed but...' _Memories of my previous life or the end of the world have nothing to do with me. If someone has to do it then you can do it! And I would like you to stop investigating me like that!'_

She didn't want Michiru's help. Why should Michiru help her? Why should Michiru worry about her at all? Let her get attacked! See if Michiru cared! Force her to become Sailor Uranus. It would serve her right! Force her to face her destiny! Michiru had to, no one had rushed in to save her!

Of course, Michiru knew she could never do that. As much as she wanted to hate Haruka Tenoh, as much as she _should_ hate Haruka Tenoh, she couldn't. Images flashed in her head. The first time she had seen Haruka race. The way that even from a distance Michiru could see her face light up when she was running. Watching her laugh with her friends from a distance. Her deep hearty laugh. The way that even when she crashed her bike, she still got up and kept going. And then of course those damned memories from her past life that she couldn't ignore no matter how much she tried. ' _I'd follow you anywhere. If you were there, I wouldn't care where I lived. Uranus, Neptune, Sedna, or even the depth of Hell...'_ She remembered the way Uranus's lips felt against hers. The taste of them. The familiarity. Then darker memories returned could almost feel Uranus's callused hands as she dragged her from the fires of Triton Castle. ' _I_ won't _let you die! If I have to knock you out and_ drag _you through this war, I will. You can't leave me! I won't allow it! We made it this far together. We can make it the rest of the way. I can't do it without you...'_

She couldn't hate Haruka Tenoh. She wanted to, but she just couldn't. Uranus had protected Neptune during the war. Now it was Michiru's turn. She would protect Haruka from Uranus. If Haruka really didn't want this responsibility, then Michiru would make sure she didn't have to take it. She wished someone would have been there to protect her, but there was no one then. She wouldn't let both of them be damned.

She threw on the first outfit she grabbed, not even caring that it was her school uniform. Like always, she knew where she had to go without knowing why she knew. Her feet took her to the race track. Cars were racing today as well as motorcycles. The motorcycle races went first. Michiru watched the first few, letting her heartbeat return to normal. Haruka wasn't in danger yet. She was fine. She was getting ready for her race. After two rounds of bike races, it was Haruka's turn.

Haruka was even more impressive in this race than the last one. She didn't wipe out this time. She had full control of her bike an no one else got near enough to her to possibly knock her out. Within 60 seconds of the race starting she had put almost half a lap between herself and her closest competition. She maintained that distance for quite a time. One man almost caught up at one point, but she just got faster, finishing well ahead of everyone else. After the medal ceremony the cars took the track. Michiru followed Haruka to the garage keeping a safe distance behind her. She saw Haruka duck into a stall.

Michiru followed and heard someone whimpering. She was used to the noise by now. It was the sound of someone trying to fight off the monsters inside of them. Before Michiru could get any closer the monster erupted from it's host. Haruka stumbled back. Michiru took out her transformation wand but held off using it. She waited to see what Haruka would do.

Haruka stepped back, she grabbed a tire iron and was about to strike the creature, but something held her back. The monster charged, knocking Haruka to the ground. Her weapon skidded across the floor. Michiru was about to rush in but before she could a bright light erupted from the middle of the room.

 _So that's why today felt different. I was right. Haruka's not just being attacked. Today_ is _the day she has to choose._

The wand that appeared from the light looked slightly different from Michiru's, but there was no doubt it was the same thing. Haruka reached for it.

"Don't do it!" Cried Michiru. Haruka jerked her hand back. The light disappeared and the rod dropped to the floor. "Don't grab that." Michiru pleaded. "Once you grab hold of it you will never return to your normal life again." The words were almost painful for Michiru to say out loud. It felt like she was finally accepting once and for all that she would never get _her_ life back either. She held up her own wand so Haruka could see. "Neptune Planet Power, Make-Up!"

She transformed into Neptune. The monster turned to attack her instead. She punched it hard, deflecting it until she could get better footing for her attack. It crashed into a shelf of oil cans causing them to collapse onto it. Michiru turned to attack again, but Haruka ran in front of the pile of rubble.

"You can't!" Haruka shouted. "He was human up until a few moments ago! Are you alright doing this?! This is murder!"

Her accusatory glare tore at Michiru's heart, but her reply was cold. Because that's what she had to make herself. If she didn't start learning to block out her emotions this would turn her insane. "The silence is approaching. If I don't do this there will be even more victims."

"Are you saying you don't care how it is accomplished?"

"That's right!" Michiru lied. "I don't care what means I use."

Haruka gave her a look of pure loathing, "Are you really satisfied..."

Before she could finish the monster shot forward from the rubble. It went straight for Haruka. Panic hit Michiru hard. Without stopping to consider it, Michiru dove at Haruka, knocking her down. She felt claws rake deep across her back and arm. She could feel them rip through her muscles and tear all the way down to her bones.

She forced herself to get up and use her deep submerge attack, but seconds after the monster was hit her strength gave out and she fell to the floor. She didn't remember anything after that, until she suddenly found herself in Haruka's arms.

It was almost familiar...no, it _was_ familiar. Her dusty blue eyes were looking at her with the same worry and concern as Uranus's when she pleaded Neptune to escape with her from the war torn Triton Castle.

"Where's the monster?" She asked feebly.

Haruka smiled a tiny bit, as if to reassure her. "He turned back into a human. He's alright."

Michiru looked over to where the boy was sitting. He looked unconscious but okay. She felt relieved. But still... "I might have killed him...No...next time I'm sure I'll kill..." She felt so weak. It was all she could do to hold back her tears. "It's not that I'm fine with it. But I'm a soldier...Because...I chose to do this." She did. She didn't want to do it, but she did choose to. She couldn't blame anyone else. Subconsciously she knew what grabbing that rod would make her become, but she took it anyways.

"Why did you cover for me just now?" Haruka asked, lifting Michiru's bleeding arm to inspect it. "If you hurt your hand, you won't be able to become a violinist."

Michiru almost smiled. _That's what she's worried about? That I achieve my dream?_

She couldn't be sure why she admitted what she admitted next. Maybe she just couldn't handle keeping it in anymore. Maybe the blood loss was impairing her judgment. But she needed to tell the truth. She had done enough lying. "I didn't investigate you because you were the other soldier. It goes back further than when I found out you were the one. I was watching you in your first race from near by. I wanted to cruise along the beach in your car...just once...You don't rely on anyone at all. You're always honest with your feelings."

"I'm not honest at all...I keep running away..."

"I know more about you than you do because I was always watching you." Michiru told her, thinking back to all the days she spent watching Haruka with her friends. Her easy smile...her quick laugh...she could let people in. She could make friendships. That was something Michiru had never been able to do. Even now, her apprehensive eyes... "You're the one person I don't want to see walking down the same path as I did...But...when I realized it was you...I was happy..." She couldn't hold back her tears any longer. They started to track down the side of her face. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to tell you all this...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." She couldn't stay conscious any longer. She had lost too much blood. She vaguely heard Haruka calling her name, but she couldn't reply...


	14. A New Partnership

**Author's Note:** **Hello, Friends. So this week I got to deal with anaphylactic shock for the first time. Not a fun time. 10/10 would not recommend. Anyways, that kind of held up my writing, I'm not as far as I want to be. But please read anyways, and leave me a review**

Michiru woke to dirty sunlight falling across her face. She wasn't sure where she was or how she got there. She tried to sit up but her body spasmed in pain. A blanket fell off of her and she saw that her chest and arms were wrapped in bandages. Someone changed her into pajama shorts; her school uniform was sitting on the floor covered with blood. Whoever had wrapped her bandages had left her bra on, the under wire pressed uncomfortably against her ribs.

She looked around the room, it was small, only slightly bigger than her closet. It fit the bed, a dresser, and a nightstand. That was it. The clock on the nightstand told Michiru it was 7 am, she had been out for nearly 19 hours. On the dresser was a folded men's button up shirt. She forced herself to get out of bed and walk over to it. She put the shirt on and made her way to the door.

The whole apartment, including the bedroom behind, her could have easily fit into Michiru's living room with space left over. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were all one. Though none them were really proper rooms. The kitchen was just a fridge, stove, and single counter unit. She guessed she could consider the kotatsu in the corner as a 'dining area' since it had a plate of toast crumbs and empty glass on it. There was a small tv and chair next to it. The wallpaper and carpet were both a sad shade of beige and looked to be at least 30 years old. The kotatsu mat was mussed up as if someone had slept on it that night. Haruka was in the kitchen. Her back towards Michiru as she appeared to be fixing coffee or tea. Michiru felt nervous remembering all she had confessed the day before. She pulled the shirt she was wearing closed even tighter.

"Good morning..." She dared to say.

Haruka turned around. Looking surprised first then relieved. "I was starting to worry you wouldn't wake up." She admitted. "You lost so much blood...but I didn't dare take you to the doctor...Are you hungry?"

Michiru shook her head. She didn't know what to say. At least not until she saw the rod on the counter.

"You took it..." She said sadly. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to be cursed with this too..."

"You can't keep doing this on you're own." Haruka told her. "It's going to kill you. Yesterday I was afraid it had..."

"But your racing..."

"I'm not the only one with dreams. You said it yourself. I've been selfish for long enough. Besides..." Haruka gave a small cautious smile. "Maybe we won't have to completely abandon our dreams. Whoever said we couldn't do both?" She walked over to Michiru and put a hand on Michiru's shoulder. Michiru's heartbeat speed up. "When I first saw you I felt something I'd never felt before. I couldn't explain it and that scared me. But last night my memories came back. I remember a girl...a princess from the kingdom next to mine...my best friend...the girl I loved. I promised back then I would never leave your side. I'm sorry it took me so long to remember." Her eyes were filled with tenderness, but also consternation.

"I'm just glad you remembered..."

"From now on we're in this together. You and I. We lean on each other."

Michiru nodded. "No more running. From either of us."

Haruka's hand moved down from Michiru's shoulder to her arm. Michiru involuntarily gasped in pain and pulled away. Haruka's face instantly turned to fear. "I'm sorry!"

"No, it's okay..." Michiru tried to assure her, but she couldn't keep the pain from her voice.

"We should change your bandages..." said Haruka. "If you get an infection..."

Michiru nodded. She could still feel the injury deep in her flesh, it would take a few days to heal. She didn't know if her super speed healing was enough to fight off sepsis if it decided to set in. She knelt down next to the kotatsu letting the shirt fall off to the floor behind her. Haruka brought a small first aid kit down from the kitchen cupboard. She sat down behind Michiru. Michiru felt a cold piece of metal slide between the bandages and her skin as Haruka cut the old dressings off, carefully pulling them away so not to reopen the wounds. Slightly self consciously Michiru covered her chest with her arms even though she knew it was a silly thing to do. They had better things to be concerned about right now than her breasts.

"It looks much better today." Haruka commented, gently bringing a cool, wet wash cloth over Michiru's skin.

"I've found I've started to heal much faster since I've awoken."

"Even so, you shouldn't have covered for me like that. You're going to end up with scars."

"There are worse scars to have..."

Haruka's hand paused for a moment, "I suppose there are." She finished washing the caked blood off and fumbled around with something. Michiru suddenly smelled the harsh scent of alcohol. "This is going to hurt like Hell..." Haruka warned.

"I know." Michiru replied. "It's okay." She tensed up involuntarily, gritting her teeth. Haruka dabbed her injury and suddenly if felt like Michiru's whole back was on fire. She bit her lip and tried not to cry out. She couldn't help but let a small whimper of pain escape.

"I'm sorry..." Haruka said. "I'm almost done."

Michiru nodded, she felt lightheaded from the pain. Blood was rushing in her ears making it hard to hear. Her eyes were forced so tightly shut that stars danced behind the lids. With every fiber of her being she fought not to pass out. Finally Haruka finished and wrapped fresh bandages around Michiru's torso. Then they had to do it over again for her arm.

Afterwards Michiru carefully put the shirt back on. Haruka put the first aid kit back in the cupboard. "I'll make you breakfast." She offered. "Even if you said you're not hungry, you lost a lot of blood. You need your strength."

"Alright." Michiru agreed. "But first, do you have a bathroom?"

"There's a community one at the end of the hall."

Michiru nodded and went out the door. The hall way was narrow and long. The same sad beige color as Haruka's apartment. At least a dozen doors were on each side. Behind one Michiru heard a baby crying. Behind another two people arguing. One opened and two children raced out, running down the hall and disappearing behind a corner. Something about the color and claustrophobic atmosphere of this place made Michiru feel as if she were stuck inside a cardboard box.

The bathrooms were similarly uncomfortable. A line of cramped stalls and chipped sinks. Michiru didn't linger in there any longer than she had to. Though she did take a few moments to inspect her face in one of the dirty mirrors. She looked much paler than normal, as if her face was completely bloodless. Despite having slept for so long, deep blue circles were present under her eyes. She suddenly understood why Haruka had feared she would die last night.

She returned to Haruka's apartment to see the tall blonde cooking over the stove. "I hope eggs are okay. I figured you should have protein. I wish I had some meat..."

"Eggs are fine." Michiru replied, sitting down again. "Do you live here all by yourself?"

"Yeah. There's not a whole hell of a lot of room for a roommate."

"Where are your parents?"

"My old man kicked me out last year." She replied. "He's really religious and having a gay daughter..."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay, this place isn't that bad." Haruka said. "It's dingy, but the rent is cheap."

"It seems too gloomy for someone like you."

Haruka finished cooking and brought Michiru over a plate of eggs. "I'll work my way up eventually."

"Or you could move in with me."

Haruka looked at Michiru in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Why not? We're going to be partners now, right? So it would be more convent. I have a spare bedroom. And besides...it would be nice to have someone there."

Haruka blushed. "What about your parents?"

"They're traveling most of the time anyways. I only see them three or four times a year, and they have their own house in Tokyo."

Haruka shook her head. "Even only paying half, I'm sure I couldn't even come close to affording the rent."

"Don't worry about that."

"I don't need charity."

"I'm not offering charity." replied Michiru quickly, "I'm offering a partnership. We live together, we fight together. If either of us is injured, the other won't have to worry from across town. We'll be right there in case of emergency. It's safer for both of us."

Haruka looked skeptical. "Okay, but once I start making money with my racing, I pay you back all the rent I'll owe you."

Michiru agreed.


	15. Haruka's Big Adjustment

**Author's note:** **Now we get some character development for the next few chapters. Which, personally, I love.**

Michiru spent that day and another night at Haruka's during which time Haruka called her landlord and informed him that she would pay the rent for the rest of this month but would be vacating within the week. They spent the rest of the time talking. Surprisingly they never ran out of things to talk about. They had a lot more in common than either of them had initially thought. For example, Haruka loved classical music. She listened to it before her races to help her focus. She was surprised in how genuinely interested Michiru was in her racing. Their conversation ranged from hobbies, to books, to their childhoods, to school...finally they approached the topic of their past lives.

"Not all of my memories have come back yet." Haruka admitted. "Just a handful."

"That's the same as it is with me." Michiru told her. "They come back a little at a time. Mostly in dreams. Sometimes just in random thoughts."

"I remember you though." said Haruka. "Your name was different. You were Princess Salacia...When we were little I used to call you Sallie and you'd get mad."

Michiru smiled. "And you were Princess Titania. But you preferred to go by Uranus even before you started training as a Sailor."

"You teased me for it. You thought it was egotistical."

"It was."

Haruka laughed. "Maybe a little."

"I guess some things never change."

"What does that mean?"

"Oh, come on! You jumped back on a crashed bike with half your forehead cut open just so you wouldn't have to forfeit a race!"

Haruka blushed. She opened her mouth to retort, then closed it. "Alright, fair enough..." She finally said.

"Do you remember the night after we passed our exams that gave us the right to be formally allowed to succeed our parents to the throne when time came?"

"I think so." Haruka said. "We were on the moon, right?"

Michiru nodded. "There was a huge party that lasted into the night. Then after everyone had gone to bed, you dragged me out to the Sea of Serenity to go ice skating."

Haruka's face lit up with sudden recognition and amusement. "You _sucked_ at it! I couldn't believe someone so graceful could be so hopeless! I had to hold on to you the whole time!"

"But you wouldn't let me go in. You held my hands and pulled me all around that damned ice in my night gown."

"I promised you next time you visited my planet we would practice until you got a hang of it. And you threatened to never visit me again."

"Then a couple of guards found us and pulled us back in to the palace. Queen Serenity was so mad at us for sneaking out..."

Haruka laughed again. "Have you learned to skate this life around?"

Michiru smiled and shook her head. "No. I'm still terrible. My dad tried taking me skating last Christmas when I visited them in Paris. I nearly broke my ankle. Elsa always tries to convince me to go, but I refuse. What about you? Are you still amazing at it?"

"No." Haruka replied with a grin. "That's one skill I must not have been reborn with. I've gone a few times with friends, but every time I've just left cold and bruised."

"Titania would be rolling over in her grave to know her reincarnation couldn't skate."

Haruka's smile faded. "Do you know how we died? I mean, we must have died pretty young. I have memories from childhood and our teenage years. But none from being an adult."

Michiru's face turned somber. She didn't want to reply. "There was a war." She said simply.

"And we lost?" guessed Haruka.

"Everyone lost."

Haruka nodded. "We won't lose this time." She vowed.

By the next morning, Michiru's injuries were all but healed. "They look so much better." Haruka commented when she took the bandages off this time. "You could probably keep them uncovered and let them get some air."

"They feel better." Michiru agreed. "You're a good doctor." Haruka blushed. "I could probably help you pack today. We can get your clothes and stuff to my place."

"Clothes are all I have. The furniture belongs to my landlord."

Haruka lent Michiru one of her female school uniforms, and it took only two trips for them to move all of Haruka's things to the trunk of her car.

"I'll keep my key for the rest of this month." Haruka said. "Just in case you change your mind and kick me out."

Michiru couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "So how can do you afford your car?" Michiru asked as she got into the front seat and buckled the seat belt.

"I bought it off my cousin. He sold it to me for 50,000 yen and a half a year of indentured servitude. For the past six months I've been cleaning his house every weekend."

"Oh, so I can trust you to do all the cleaning?"

"Not a chance! I thought rich people were supposed to have maids!"

"No, at least I don't."

"I only clean for people who give me cars."

Michiru raised an eyebrow. "Alright." She said. "What kind of car do you want?"

"Very funny."

"I'm serious." Michiru said. "Pick a car, and I'll buy loan you the money for it."

"I already told you I don't accept charity."

"This isn't charity." replied Michiru. "I can't drive. And if we're going to continue fighting monsters we'll need a reliable car to get to the monsters, right? And this one will stick out like a sore thumb in the parking lot of my apartment. You'll need something nicer."

Haruka looked at her as if trying to assess if she was teasing or not.

"Eyes on the road!" Snapped Michiru.

Haruka turned forward again. "Any car I want? And you'll buy it?"

"I'll invest in it. Trusting that you'll pay me back when you're a famous racer."

"And if I don't? What if I was just lucky before and I end up not being able to win any more races?"

Michiru grinned. "Then you better get used to washing dishes."

"You're shifty."

"Turn left here." Michiru directed. "My father's a business man. I had to pick up some tricks."

Haruka grinned, still looking slightly unsure. "Do I have to decide right now?"

"No. I'll give you a day or two."

"I suppose this is your way of turning me into your chauffeur?"

"Naturally."

"I should have let that monster eat you." Haruka said with a playful smirk.

"Well it's too late for that." Michiru teased. "You're stuck with me now."

Haruka smiled wider. "How much further until your place?"

"Not far. Take the next right, then about a mile straight. Go to Shinagawa Ward."

Haruka obeyed. When they got to Michiru building the blonde gawked for a solid minute.

"Are you going to be okay?" Asked Michiru.

"Just give me a second." She said.

Michiru smirked. "Don't look so out of place. If you're going to live among the rich, you can't let them see that you're an outsider."

"How do I do that, Miss Manners?"

"Stop gawking for one." Michiru told her with a smile. "Follow me, just walk in like you own the place. If you think someone is looking at you like they think you're beneath them, act like they're beneath you."

"Alright," Haruka replied, "That's all fine and good right now while we're clean and fresh. But what about when I come home after working on my car or racing my bike? Covered with oil or dirt?"

"Doesn't matter. They won't accept you either way, so at least show them that you don't care what they think about you."

Haruka smiled, "That works, does it? How would you know? You've been rich your whole life."

"True, but you should see the looks Elsa got when she first started visiting me. After she told enough people to piss off they left her alone."

Haruka laughed, "I'll keep that in mind." She said.

Michiru told one of the building workers where Haruka's car was parked and instructed him to send the boxes up to her apartment before getting in the elevator and hitting the button for the 15th floor. When they got there she let Haruka in. "Wow..." Haruka said looking around the living room.

"Do you find it to your liking?" Michiru asked. Haruka still looked a bit overwhelmed, but she tried to hide it. She observed the giant window over looking the Ward. She ran her hand over the soft blue upholstery of the love seat, which accented the silver curtains. Her eyes widened at the flat screen tv in the corner. Then she saw the desk with homework piled high on it. Michiru's violin was sitting in it's open case, sheet music scattered around it. In the corner by the easel, canvases and open paint tubes were left on the table. Haruka smirked.

"I wouldn't have guessed you'd be the type of person to leave your work area so messy." She teased.

Michiru's face got red. "You're one to talk! Your place wasn't exactly spotless!"

Haruka grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I like it. I was afraid it would be too pristine." She walked over to a framed picture on the side table. "Are these your folks?" Michiru nodded. The picture was from their last visit, three months ago. "You're mom's not Japanese, is she? She looks European."

"She's Czech. My dad met her when he was living in Prague."

"Prague?"

"It's a nice city, I lived there for a while, I prefer Tokyo, but I liked it better than some of the other places."

"How many places have you lived?" Asked Haruka.

Michiru had to think to remember them all, "I was born here in Tokyo, we lived here until I was five, then we spent a year in London, four months in Edinburgh, four months in San Francisco, then back here until I was nine, then two months in Washington DC, five in Rome, five in Osaka...lets see, after that it was half a year in Prague, half a year in Paris, a year in Hong Kong, five months in Kyoto, two months in Berlin, that year I think we finished off in New York...then two months in Beijing, then Tokyo again. By that time I was thirteen, after seven months we were supposed to go to Sydney, but I couldn't stand moving anymore so my mom and I stayed here and my dad went, but I know Mom was miserable without Dad, so I convinced her to let me rent my own place."

Haruka looked sheepish. "Wow, I thought I was a big shot for moving from Mito to Tokyo."

"Mito's where you're from?"

"Yeah."

"I've never been there."

"Best to leave it that way." Haruka said. "There's nothing there worth seeing. Toyko's far more interesting." She put the picture down. Michiru led her through the archway connecting the living room to the dining room and kitchen. After being in Haruka's cramped little apartment with just the single counter space and the stove on top of the mini-fridge, Michiru released how pristine her kitchen looked with it's uniform cabinets and cupboards wrapping around into an island. Shiny, state of the art appliances sparkled glamorously. Two bar stools sat next to the island, and on the side opposite of the kitchen was a large oak table set for four. Michiru rarely used the table. When she was alone she would eat at the island, or at her desk in the living room. When Elsa was over they usually ended up sitting on the floor watching tv.

"I don't know if you do much cooking. I rather enjoy it, so if you want I can do it for both of us. Or we could switch off..."

"You better take responsibility for the food." Haruka said, rubbing the back of her head looking somewhat embarrassed. "I've been living off instant noodles and omelets for the past year. I'm likely to give us both food poisoning if I try making anything too difficult."

Michiru nodded. "My room is through here." She said, touching her door in passing. "And this one's yours." She opened the door to the spare bedroom and led Haruka in. Blank canvases piled in the corner. "I'll move those." Michiru said. The room was smaller than Michiru's but still roughly five times the size of the one at Haruka's apartment. It was sparsely furnished. There was a queen size bed and a bookshelf. That was it. "It's probably a bit dusty." Michiru admitted. "No one has slept in it since I moved in. But you can decorate it however you want."

"It's great." Haruka said, pulling the dusty curtains open. "I've never lived anywhere with a view like this."

"Your bathroom's through here." Michiru told her. Haruka looked surprised.

"I get my own bathroom?"

"Of course." Michiru replied. "It's not as nice as the master bath, there's no tub, but you can always use mine if you need to...you're looking a little overwhelmed again..."

"It's going to take me a little while to take all of this in." She admitted.

Michiru smiled. After so many weeks watching, yearning from afar, finally Haruka and her had been reunited.


	16. Powers, Cars, and Parents

**Author's note:** **I think this is my personal favorite chapters to write.**

Their first fight together had proved that Uranus and Neptune were meant to be a team. They were at the grocery store when they felt the presence of a monster. Haruka reacted much better to her first transformation than Michiru had to hers. But then again, Haruka had known what was coming, unlike Michiru.

She was even faster as Uranus than she was as Haruka. Michiru had to push herself to keep up with her speed. _I'll get faster._ She vowed as they ran to the disturbance they both felt. _I have too._ The monster spit and hissed at them when they finally got to it. Suddenly, it was as if Haruka and Michiru were two parts of one being. Michiru knew exactly what Haruka was going to do. She could anticipate her moves and feel her emotions. With only a glance, perfect understanding between them was acquired.

The monster darted at Haruka, she jumped out of the way as Michiru intercepted as a distraction. She grazed it with her fist, but it moved fast enough to avoid the full impact of Michiru's punch. It reeled back to strike again, but Haruka got solid footing and gathered energy in her hand. "WORLD SHAKING!" She shouted. A sphere of yellow energy left her hand, spinning towards the creature and hitting it right as Michiru jumped out of the way. The monster cried and turned back into a human. Michiru caught him before he hit the ground. He almost immediately groaned and messaged his temples, by the time Haruka got to him he had already opened his eyes. He jumped away from Michiru.

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed. "What's going on? Who are you? What happened?"

Michiru was glad that Haruka's first victim had come to right away without serious injury. They didn't answer his question. They both jumped to the roof of the nearest building. They didn't undo their transformations right away. Instead they ran, as far as they could. Michiru was able to keep up, but just barely. Haruka's face was alight with excitement. They jumped from building top to building top as easily as a child might jump over a jump rope. Their bodies lighter than they could ever imagine. Haruka laughed and whooped with joy as they went, ecstatic with her new abilities. Michiru found herself having fun as well. Though she had been Neptune for months now, this was the first time she ever tested her abilities just for fun. She felt like she was flying, like she could go forever and never get tired. They finally stopped at the waterfront. Michiru suspected that the only reason Haruka stopped was because they ran out of rooftops. Though the way she was looking now, the blonde probably would have jumped right into the water and swam across the entire Pacific.

Haruka stared at her hands fisting and unfisting them. "I never imagined I could hold that much power." She admitted. "Or to be able to jump 20 stories as if it were nothing..."

"You'll get used to it." Michiru said.

"I'm glad the boy didn't seem hurt."

"Most of the time they're fine after."

Haruka's face dropped as her excitement faded. "But not all the time." She said. "You said before you're afraid you may kill someone."

Michiru's stomach tightened in discomfort, "Some of them are weaker than others. I haven't yet learned how to throttle my attack...I've put a few people in the hospital..."

Haruka's eyes darkened. "We'll learn." She insisted. She looked down at her fist again. Fisting it a final time in determination. "We have to."

Over the course of the following few weeks Haruka fell so naturally into Michiru's conception of normal that it was hard to imagine that she had only recently entered it. Michiru usually was the first awake, she would typically have breakfast ready by the time Haruka lumbered into the dining room wearing her pajamas, which consisted of only a sports bra and a pair of shorts or sweatpants. Michiru had been shocked at first, but then she remembered that Haruka was probably just so used to living alone that she didn't even think about things like getting dressed for breakfast. Michiru always had to make a conscious effort not to stare at her new roommate's smooth exposed skin. Though it was such a strangely beautiful sight. Luckily, Haruka had only caught her eyes wandering once and Michiru had been able to play it off as drifting out. She had been more subtle after that until she caught Haruka checking her out as well.

It was clear that the both of them could feel their past lives' desire for one another but neither would be the first to bring it up.

Haruka fit pretty seamlessly into high society. It took her no time at all to walk the halls of her new home with confidence. Unlike Elsa who always stuck out, Haruka blended right in with the other tenants. Nobody looked at her twice. And once she and Michiru had gone shopping for her new car, she had fully embraced her new found wealth. She seemed to even forget her hesitations about accepting such an expensive gift once she got to the car lot. She rushed from one car to another looking at each like a child in a candy shop. Each one she would spout out information on, commenting on the engine and rams and several other things that Michiru didn't even try to understand. Finally she found a sleek yellow Ferrari convertible that she fell in love with. "Look at this one!" She said to Michiru. " _Mumbo jumbo_ horse power! _Nonsense, nonsense,_ engine! _Words that Michiru was pretty sure she just made up!_ _Something that sounds very impressive_ speed, _blah blah blah blah_ streamline body!"

Michiru could only agree with her on the last part, she it _was_ a very pretty car. Everything else was over her head. That was the car they drove home in. Michiru had to admit, she was pleased with Haruka's choice. Even if she didn't understand anything about the mechanics, she was a huge fan of the leather seats. And Haruka looked good with the wind blowing through her hair. She certainly was at home on the road. Once they were more settled they would have to discuss getting a racecar as well. If Haruka was half as good racing cars as she was at racing bikes, it would be a crime to keep her off the race track.

"So how'd you get you're licenses anyways?" Michiru asked. "You're only 16."

"I got it overseas." Haruka said.

Michiru raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Where?"

"America." Despite the confidence of a well rehearsed lie that Haruka put on, Michiru wasn't so easily fooled. Some things didn't line up.

"You're a good liar, I'll give you that."

"I'm not lying!"

"You just turned 16 a few months ago, right? But your father kicked you out last year. How did you have the money to go to America?"

"Uh...scholarship?"

"Haruka..."

Haruka turned red. "Alright, I'm very, _very_ good at forging documents and hacking into computers."

Michiru blinked in surprise. "You _forged_ your drivers license?"

"No!" Replied Haruka indignantly. "I forged the paperwork to get my drivers license. Then hacked into the data base to say I did, in fact, live in America for several months and got a license there...then I filed for a lost card and they sent me a 'new' one." Haruka looked over, still red, to see what Michiru thought.

Michiru laughed. "That's brilliant!"

Haruka beamed. "I'm glad you approve. Want me to get you one?"

"I just spent a lot of money on this car." Michiru said, "It would be better if we don't let me crash it."

This time Haruka laughed. "I suppose."

Michiru smiled and leaned her head against the back of her seat, enjoying the feel of the wind against her face. After a long silence Haruka looked at her, "What?"

"Eyes on the road." Michiru reminded her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I like the way you look when you drive." Michiru admitted. "With the wind in your hair...like this is where you belong." Haruka turned to observe if Michiru was teasing or not. "Eyes on the road!"

Haruka smirked, "Don't you trust me?"

"No!"

Haruka laughed. "Maybe this is where I belong. Where do you belong?"

Michiru didn't reply. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

"Stingy." Complained Haruka.

"Mmmhm."

They got back to the apartment, "The sea's calm today," Michiru commented as they got into the living room. "We'll have a break for at least one day. Do you want to do anything in particular?"

Haruka flopped down on the couch, one leg slung over the back, one arm hanging over the side. "I just want to relax. I don't know how you managed to do this every day on your own."

"It wasn't easy." Michiru admitted. She decided to pull out a canvas. She hadn't painted since the day she discovered she was Sailor Neptune, she had drawn a bit, but her painting supplies had been shamefully neglected.

Haruka noticed her setting up. She dropped her head off the couch so she could see, though given her position, her head was upside down. "What are you gonna paint?"

"I don't know yet." Michiru said. "I usually don't know until I start."

"Mmm, I suppose I should expect answers like that from you by now."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You don't like to give straight answers."

Michiru looked at Haruka for a moment, deciding whether to be insulted or not. "Maybe I'll paint you."

Haruka laughed, "If you want to waste canvas."

"Are you saying you won't pose for me?"

"Here's a pose for you. Nnnnnnn." She pulled down her eyelid and stuck out her tongue. That pose combined with the fact her head was still upside down with her hair splaying out around her head made a very amusing sight.

Michiru smiled as she started painting, she had just about decided what the cluster of colors on her canvas was turning into when there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" She wondered out loud. She didn't have many friends, and Elsa was the only one who knew her address, but Elsa was in America for another week. Could it be another tenant? People who lived in this building weren't really the type to stop by their neighbors' apartment to chat or borrow a cup of sugar. And door-to-door sales people weren't allowed.

"I'll get it." Haruka volunteered, swinging her body off the couch. She walked over and opened the door. Michiru couldn't get a view from the angle she was at but she heard a startlingly familiar voice. Soft and song-like with a heavy accent.

"Oh...I'm sorry...I was looking for Michiru Kaoih...did she move?"

"Mom?" Michiru put her paints down and hurried to the door.

"Michala!" Her mother pushed past Haruka to hug her daughter.

"Mom!" Michiru cried, dropping her paints to go into her mother's embrace. "What are you doing here?"

Marketa Kaioh pulled out of the hug and took her daughters face in her hands, "You didn't call last Saturday, then you didn't pick up when I tried calling you. I figured you must have forgotten, but then I called again and again, and still no answer. Then a couple of days ago that friend of yours, Elsa showed up in New York, she said she's been worried about you. That you've been sick...You do look thinner, and pale..."

"No, I'm fine, Mom. Sorry I worried you..."

"Don't lie to me! You're school contacted me a few weeks ago as well. They say you've been skipping and coming late. You're headmaster says you've been looking battered and exhausted. Then last week your manager called...I figured if there was anything going on you'd tell me, but then you missed the call on Saturday. You've never done that!"

Michiru felt helpless, she was being chastised by mommy like a misbehaving child. Of course she felt guilt over making her parents worry, but what could she do? She was painfully aware that Haruka was still in the room.

"Why don't I go make some tea..." Haruka offered. Michiru nodded at the suggestion.

Her mother led her to the sofa and sat her down. "Michala...Tell me what is going on."

"Nothing."

"It's never nothing. I was a teenager once too. I told my mother 'nothing' many of times. What, are you afraid I'll get mad? Have you done something wrong?"

"No."

"I won't get angry. Just tell me what's going on!"

"It's nothing, Mom. I swear! I'm fine."

"So your friend was just lying? Your headmaster? Your manager? They were just over exaggerating? Then why is it that you missed my calls? And why do you look so ill now?"

Michiru struggled for words.

Marketa was clearly frustrated with her daughters inability to reply. "I suppose this is to be expected. You're too young to live on your own, I should have never left you. You're coming back home with me."

"Mom, no! I hate living in New York!"

"I know that, I meant the Toyko house. I won't pull you out of school again with only a couple months left."

" _You_ hate Toyko!"

"What I hate is being separated from my family. I thought I was making the right choice by giving you your freedom, but I was obviously wrong."

"You weren't, I'm fine!"

"You're clearly not!"

"Mom, please! I'm sorry I forgot to call, but it's not fair to punish me for..."

"This isn't a punishment, Michala!"

"Just tell her the truth, Michiru." Haruka said, bringing in a tray of tea. She placed it on the table.

"Haruka?!" They had already discussed why they couldn't tell anyone about their powers. Least of all family.

"Mrs. Kaioh, I'm sure you know that Michiru is a rather famous violinist. Unfortunately, a woman as beautiful and talented as her attracts attention. Some positive, and some negative. She's ashamed to admit it to anyone, but she had a stalker harassing her for the past few weeks. I keep telling her it's nothing she's done, but she's been afraid to tell you."

Marketa looked at her daughter in shock, "Is that true, Michala?"

Michiru averted her eyes, pretending to be embarrassed. She took a sip of tea and tried not to gag. (She should have known. Haruka had a bad habit of putting sugar directly in the teapot rather than in her cup. Which wouldn't be bad if she didn't like her tea 50 times sweeter than Michiru did.) She put her cup down and pushed it away from her. "It's nothing I couldn't take care of."

Marketa pulled Michiru into an embrace. "Kitten...You should have told me that right away!"

"It's taken care of now." Michiru said. Suddenly having an idea what Haruka was playing at. "Haruka here is my bodyguard."

Haruka nodded. "I'll protect your daughter no matter what, I swear that on my life." The look in Haruka's eyes were completely serious. Michiru felt her face grow warm.

Marketa seemed to for the first time observe the addition of Haruka's things in the apartment. Her stack of racing magazines on the table, her old game system hooked up to the tv, the addition of men's clothes to the basket of clean laundry waiting to be folded on the desk. "So you're living here as well, then?"

Haruka nodded.

"She just moved in." Michiru said. "That's why I missed your call on Saturday. I was helping her move."

"So you're not here alone..."

"Not anymore."

Marketa's face seemed to relax a bit. "You're not stuck here alone then..." She said. "I'm glad."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm not alone. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this all earlier, but it's taken care of now. If I move back home, Haruka will have no place to go."

Marketa smiled. "I'm going to stay in town for a few days anyways. Just to make sure you're alright. And if I get anymore calls from school..."

"You won't."

She looked at Haruka. "I trust you to protect her, then."

Haruka nodded.


	17. The Taste of Mint

Michiru did enjoy having her mother visit, and it turned out that Marketa and Haruka got along great. Still, she would be lying if she said she wasn't relieved when it was time to say goodbye. Fighting with Haruka took a lot of pressure off of her, but that didn't make it any easier to come up with excuses to suddenly disappear from places to go fight. Luckily they only needed to come up with two reasons. And neither of those fights were even particularly bad.

After waving Marketa off at the airport a few days later, Haruka turned to Michiru with a giant smile as they left the terminal. "You're mom's awesome. I can't understand half of the things she says, but she's awesome."

"I'm glad you think so." Michiru replied. "She really seemed to like you..."

Haruka chuckled, "You seem tired, though. A bit too much family time?"

Michiru smiled. "It was tiring to think of lies to cover up our secret, plus I'm thinking of all the homework I've neglected that I have to finish before tomorrow morning."

"Dammit, I forgot, we go back to school tomorrow, don't we?"

"Yup."

"It seems crazy, fight monsters, try to stop the end of the world, figure out our past lives, and...just go to school like normal teenagers."

"Believe it or not, you do get used to it."

As they walked out of the airport, Haruka put her arm around Michiru's waist. Michiru froze. Haruka didn't seem to realize what she did. "Sorry." She said quickly, dropping her arm. "I wasn't thinking..."

"It's fine." Michiru replied, trying to hide the fact that she was flustered. "It just surprised me. People might think we're a couple."

Haruka's ears got pink. "That wouldn't be so bad, would it?"

Michiru's face burned as blood rushed to her cheeks. "I suppose not."

Haruka tried to hide her own bashfulness. "Though, with so many other lies in our lives, it seems like a hassle to add another one. It would probably be better if we actually were a couple."

Michiru became very aware of her heartbeat, which was currently faster than she had ever felt it. "Is that what you want?"

Haruka turned to her, her eyes were intense and serious. "Maybe it's me, maybe it's my past life, maybe it's both...but yes. I want you. I want all of you. I want to be more than your partner...if you want that, too..."

"I've wanted nothing else since the first time I saw you race." admitted Michiru.

Haruka leaned in, her lips gently pressed against Michiru's. Pleasure and nostalgia welled up inside Michiru's chest. She stood on her tiptoes so she could wrap her arms around Haruka's shoulders. Their body's pressed against each others. Their lips meshed. Haruka's mouth no longer carried the taste of Uranian summer fruit, like her past life's used to. Instead it tasted of mint chewing gum. But under that there was a different taste, the unique taste of her flesh, warm and a tad bit salty. It was familiar and wonderful. Michiru's ears rang, her whole body felt electrified. When they pulled apart both of them had tears in their eyes.

Haruka wiped her eyes and chuckled. "That was the best kiss I've ever had, I don't know what the Hell I'm crying for."

Michiru laughed. She took Haruka's hand in hers. It was warm, softer than a man's hand, but rougher than most girls let their hands become. Michiru's fit into it perfectly. They walked to the car together.

Despite their newly established relationship status, things didn't change much that night at home, but mostly due to the fact both of them had a small mountain of homework that they had let sit for three weeks that needed their attention at the moment. _I guess we were already living like a married couple. We've done everything together these past few weeks._ It felt weird to think it's only been three weeks they've been living together, everything felt different. Her world felt so different now. _How strange this must be for Haruka. She left school driving an old beater car to a grudgey old apartment with nothing to worry about but her next race. Now she's driving her dream car, living in one of the most elite buildings in Tokyo, knowing she's damned for the rest of her life._ It was a horrible trade off.

Yet Haruka didn't seem damned. She told Michiru how happy she was before kissing her goodnight.


	18. Dreams and Stories

" _Kaolinite, why have you not produced any results."_

" _Forgive me, Professor. None of the students have made worthy hosts, or perhaps our chimera eggs need more refinement. Either way, I think continuing our current approach will be futile."_

" _What do you intend to do to rectify this?"_

" _Forget phase one completely. We should move directly to phase two. Finding the talismans should be our first priority. With them in our possession perfecting the chimeras will become significant easier."_

" _You haven't been able to produce so much as a single chimera, what makes you think you'll be able to find the talismans?"_

" _All the chimeras we've made so far have been human based. Humans have free will, humans can fight off possession. If we use daimon eggs instead, we have a clean slate. They will be our slaves with no protest of morality."_

" _We've discussed this, daimons aren't as strong as chimera..."_

" _We don't need them to be. We don't need them to form an army, we just need them to be strong enough to steal pure hearts. Once they deliver us the talismans we can awaken the messiah of silence and we'll no longer have a need for an army."_

" _Your plan is very compelling, I must admit...daimon eggs can be produced much faster as well..."_

" _My thoughts exactly."_

" _Very well, switch the processes from making chimera eggs to making daimon eggs. But send out the last few chimera eggs that we already have completed, they may still work. There is no use wasting them."_

" _As you wish, Professor."_

Michiru bolted upwards into wakefulness. Her dream had been dark, she could only make out the silhouettes of the two talking, but she didn't need to see their faces. This was the first time she had actually acquired any information about their enemy. She pulled her bed sheets off and ran into Haruka's room.

"Haruka! Haruka!" Michiru jumped up onto her partners bed and shook her awake.

"Mmdkjf...What the _hell_ , Michiru?"

"I had a dream." She said, "About our enemy."

Haruka sat up, and turned on the lamp next to the bed so could look at Michiru. Her annoyance seemed to fade into interest. "Did you find out who's behind it?"

"Not yet. Some sort of professor. They were talking about their plan, apparently it's not going the way they wanted. The creatures they've been turning people into...they referred to them as chimeras...aren't producing the results they want. Instead their going to create a different type of monster they think will be more effective."

Annoyance flashed in Haruka's eyes. "Great, that's just what we need. What will the new monsters do? How will they be different?"

"I'm not sure, but they won't be human based by the way it sounded and..." Michiru tried to remember her dream. "They're after something...they're planning to use these new creatures to find it."

"What are they after?" Haruka pressed. Her sleepiness seemed completely forgotten now.

"Talismans." replied Michiru. "they said if they find some sort of talismans they can awaken someone called the _Messiah of Silence._ "

"Messiah of Silence..." Haruka repeated. "Talismans...Did they mention what these talismans are?"

"No."

Suddenly Haruka got up and crossed to her dresser, rummaging through. Michiru watched curiously. Finally she found what she was looking for, a textbook.

"You know how you were saying you just get feelings sometimes? You can't explain where they come from..." Haruka said, flipping through the pages looking for something. "I think this is one of them...Here it is..." She crossed back over to sit on the bed. "I was working on my Japanese Mythology homework the other day and I couldn't get this story out of my mind."

She showed the book to Michiru it was opened to a story about the sun goddess Amaterasu, this particular one had to do with the Imperial Regalia of Japan.

"I know this story." Michiru said, "Amaterasu's brother was wrecking havoic across the world, so she became upset and hid away, plunging the world into darkness. It wasn't until the other dieties lured her out with the three sacred treasures that she returned and light returned to the world."

"While I was reading this, I got a flashback. It didn't seem significant at the time, I just thought it was bits of my memory returning, but now...I remember being a kid on Uranus and my father showing me a sword. He said in the right hands it was a powerful talisman that could defend the solar system from any danger, but in the wrong hands it could destroy entire worlds. I didn't understand what he meant so he told me that it was one of three keys awaken the messiahs."

"Messiahs? Plural?"

"If there's a messiah of light, there has to be one of darkness."

"Or silence..."

Haruka nodded somberly.

"So how does the story fit into this?" asked Michiru, looking down at the colorfully illustrated pages.

"A sword is one of the three treasures that brought forth the sun goddess..."

"You think the other two talismans are the mirror and jewel then?" Michiru guessed. "And the messiah is Amaterasu?"

"Might be. Or maybe myths from the Silver Millennium got told on Earth and reinterpreted over time. Either way, it's the only lead we have right now."

Michiru looked back down at the book. After the story, it had a critical thinking page, urging the students to look deeper into the story than that was written.

 _There are many other reports of the Three Regalia throughout Japan's mythology. They became central in the traditions of Japanese culture, being presented to each emperor since 690. Though their current location is unknown. The three Regalia are supposed to represent the three primary virtues. The sword represents valor. The mirror represents wisdom. The jewel represents benevolence..._

The more she thought about it, the more certain Michiru became that Haruka's theory was correct. Yet she couldn't stop a terrible feeling from welling up in her stomach. What would be the price they had to pay to secure these treasures? And what would be the price they would pay if they failed?


	19. Back to School

That night Michiru barely slept. When her alarm went off she simply stared at it for a few moments. After her dream last night, she didn't want to move. She felt like she had hardly gotten any rest. Still, she had to go to school. Life was still happening, no matter what complications may crop up.

Like usual, Michiru woke up first that morning. Haruka was still dead to the world. They had bought the supplies for pancakes the day before. Michiru considered making them, but she was too tired. Instead she poured herself a bowl of cold cereal. She was halfway through breakfast when she realized there was still no noise coming from Haruka's room. "Haruka!" She shouted though the door, "It's quarter to 8! It's time to get up!" There was no reply. Michiru finished eating and put her bowl away before knocking. "Haruka?" There was no reply.

Michiru pushed the door open and looked in. Haruka was laying face down in the bed, her blanket mostly on the floor. "Haruka?" There was a brief moment of fear in Michiru's heart until she turned on the light. Then Haruka moaned and buried her face in her pillow. "Haruka, it's time to wake up."

"...mmmfhwn...fnlmsf...goaway..."

"Come on, we're going to be late for school, you still have to get dressed."

Michiru wasn't 100% sure what the response was but it sounded suspiciously sounded like, "Only nerds go to school on time."

"Get up! You can be as late as you want for your school, but you're dropping me off, remember?" An arm wrapped around Michiru's waist and rolled her over onto the bed. "Haruka!"

"We're superheros. School's for normal teenagers. Lets just drop out."

"Don't be ridiculous, my mom would NEVER leave us alone then!" Michiru said, trying to wiggle out from her partner's pinning. "Come on, we have to go."

"No..."

"Come _on,_ you won't have time to eat breakfast at if you don't move your ass."

Haruka let out an exasperated moan and rolled off of Michiru. "I liked you better before you turned into an alarm clock."

Michiru got up and straightened her skirt. "Come on, now."

Haruka regretfully got up. By the time she finally got dressed and brushed her teeth there wasn't time for her to eat. They pulled into the parking lot of Michiru's school with only five minutes until her first class. "I'll come pick you up, so just hang around." Haruka said.

"It's fine, I can walk to your school, it's not far."

Haruka grinned. "I thought I was supposed to be your bodyguard..."

Michiru gave Haruka a glare before grabbing her stuff and heading to class. She would have made it on time if she wouldn't have been attacked in the hallway.

One minute she was walking, the next thing she knew arms were around her. Squeezing her so tight she could hardly move. "Michiru! I was afraid you weren't coming today! I've missed you!"

"Elsa!" Michiru objected. "You idiot. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"You nearly gave me one!" replied Elsa. "You were late again! I thought you weren't going to come back!"

"What are you talking about? I'm on..." The bell rang right as she pushed herself up. "Well. I _was_ right on time. Come on!" She grabbed Elsa's hand and pulled her. The two ran into their room, making it to their seats the second before their teacher walked in.

"Lucky!" Whispered one of Elsa's friends from the track team. "One more tardy, Gray, and you're out of the semi-finals. We need you!"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Elsa replied. Elsa turned back to Michiru. "I thought I would have heard from you over break. What did you do? You look a lot better."

"Yeah, my mom came to visit..." Michiru replied, accusingly. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Elsa puffed up indignantly, "Yes, and your parents are not easy people to get in contact with, did you know that?! I almost got arrested!"

Michiru tried to stifle her laughter so not to attract the teachers attention. "I did warn you. Thank you, though. I needed some time with my mom. We had a good visit. How was Boston?"

"Great! I need to show you the pic..."

"Miss Gray!" The teacher shouted.

Elsa turned quickly, sitting at attention.

"As I was saying, now that entrance exams..."

Class seemed to pass particularly slowly. It seemed unreal, going back to the monotony of everyday life after three weeks of...what? A dream? No, it wasn't a dream. A dream would have less fighting. Still, a strange alternate version of happiness. Before she two lives, school and fighting. She blocked out fighting from her mind because she didn't want it to exist. But now fighting was only part of her secret life, the other part was Haruka.

Once lunch finally arrived Elsa grabbed Michiru's hand and pulled her down to the track. "Come on. I have to practice, but I want to tell you all about America. My gran says I have to bring you our next visit, so you don't have a choice! We're going again this summer after entrance exams."

"I'll think about it." Michiru lied. "It would be nice for you to meet my parents in a way that didn't involve you fighting your way into my fathers office and refusing to leave." Elsa blushed deep red. "You _are_ lucky you didn't get arrested."

"I know." Elsa replied, "I didn't realize just how high-profile your father was..."

Michiru rolled her eyes. "Anyways, my mom thought you're a sweetheart. She told me to thank you for being concerned."

"Are you going to thank me then?"

"No. Because _I_ told you I was fine."

"Stingy." Elsa complained.

"I thought you were going to tell me about Boston." Michiru changed the subject.

"Oh yeah!" Elsa's eyes lit up, she launched an explanation of everything that happened on her trip. Michiru listened while nibbling on her lunch, which wasn't very good today due to her over-tiredness this morning.

One of Elsa's teammates pulled her away. "Come on, Gray, you can bored everyone with your stories later."

That of course resulted in a fight. Which to the track captain's credit, did get Elsa running. It was chasing after the captain, granted, but she was running nonetheless.

Michiru found herself drifting off. The sun was warm and the cool breeze felt nice on her face. The running and shouting of the track team faded into a buzz of background noise. The bench was actually surprisingly comfortable, with it's slight recline and broad back. But right as Michiru's mind was about to start wandering into semi-consciousness pain shot through her head.

" _Send them all out..."_

Michiru sat back up putting her hand on her forehead. Not right now. She stood up, trying to get somewhere where no one could see her.

" _...the professor wants results. If one chimera egg isn't strong enough, send all the remaining ones out..."_

Michiru stumbled and fell to her knees.

" _Do you mean to infect one student with three eggs? It'll kill him for sure!"_

" _Maybe, or it will give us the results we need, what do I care if the kid dies? We have more than enough to replace him."_

Michiru gasped for air, she became aware of Elsa by her side.

" _This is it! We_ will _get results! One way or another! Do what I say! Pick a student, and send out the rest of the eggs by tonight!"_

 **Author's Note:** **So, I might put this story on hiatus for a little while. I feel like enthusiasm for it among the readers has gone down a lot by looking at the traffic and reviews. This might just sound like I'm fishing for reviews, but I'm really not, I swear. But when I don't get feedback, I loose motivation. Also, I've seen a lot of fics go on way too long on this site. In tv there's a troupe called "jumping the shark" where, essentially a show should end but just drags on. I don't want a good fic to become a bad one because I just keep rambling. I did originally have a plan to continue following the story line of "Lady in the Tower", which means means there are still some big events I want to do, but it depends on you guys. So let me know, do you think this fic is worth continuing, or should I wrap it up?**


	20. The Terror Underground

When Michiru came to she was in the nurses office. A wash cloth was on her forehead. Her head was still pounding. Elsa was standing by the window, still in her track clothes.

"You're awake." Elsa said. "I thought you were getting better."

Michiru smiled feebly. "I am. It's probably just anemia. I haven't been eating as well as I should have since my mom went home."

"You still haven't slowed down, have you?" Elsa accused, "Michiru, you have to take care of your body! If you want I'll go with you to a doctor..."

Michiru pushed herself up. She didn't feel like arguing right now. She could feel the ocean crashing angrily. "I have to go..." She murmured. She didn't wait for Elsa to respond before she flew out the door. She was nearly to Haruka's school when the familiar canary yellow convertible pulled up to her.

Haruka smirked at her. "Truancy, Miss Kaioh?" She teased, "I thought you were supposed to be the good one."

Michiru ignored Haruka's cheek and got into the car. "You feel it too, then, don't you?"

Haruka's face turned dark and she nodded. "There's a change in the wind. Like a storm's about to break."

Michiru didn't reply. She thought of the words of her premonition. _By the end of the night, we_ will _have results. One way or another!_ Michiru could feel catastrophe looming.

"Pull over!" Michiru said suddenly, tires screeched as Haruka slammed the breaks and pulled to the side of the road. Neither of them needed to waste time speaking, they both felt the presence. They transformed before bolting out of the car and taking off. Like usual, Michiru's feet lead her where she needed to go without her having to think about it. Haruka remained by her side, matching her speed. They wove their way through the streets, ignoring the disapproving looks they got as they passed people.

They stopped to orientate themselves. It only took a moment before they heard a scream and felt the tell tale burst of energy that came from someone turning into a youma.

This time Haruka ran off first, no longer needing Michiru to guide her. The large black creature towered over three cowering children. Not wanting to risk hitting the children, Haruka charged at the creature with a full frontal assault. Michiru grabbed the children and pushed them towards an escape route. "Go home!" She ordered them. "Get away from here!"

She turned to help Haruka, but the creature had already escaped. This one was quicker than they were used to.

"Don't let it get away!" Michiru yelled. They both ran after it. It disappeared down a disused subway station. They both followed it, sprinting down the stairs and jumping the security point bars. It was nearly pitch black. She could hear the trains rushing through the other tunnels. "Can you see it?" She asked Haruka. Her partner didn't respond, but touched her hand. _Is Haruka afraid of the dark?_ Michiru wondered at first, but then she realized, _No, she doesn't want us to attack each other by mistake._

Suddenly a bright blue light almost blinded them. The creature had gotten on the still active tracks. Electric energy storming around it. The would be no difficulty following it now.

Haruka didn't hesitate to give chase, dropping Michiru's hand as she ran after the youma. Michiru followed, careful to avoid the electric railings. _If a train comes.._. She rarely took trains, and never the underground, so she had no idea where or when they went. If the track was still electrified...She matched pace with Haruka. The creature seemed to be taking up more and more power from the rails. Growing bigger as blue energy bolts lit up the air around it. They needed to attack it soon! But they couldn't conjure their attacks while running.

"Dammit!" Haruka cursed.

Finally the creature apparently gathered enough energy because it whipped around and sent a bolt of lightning towards its pursuers. Michiru jumped out of the way just in time to see the bolt hit where she had been moments ago. Haruka lunged forward. "WORLD..." But before she could finish her attack the monster charged and unbalanced her. Haruka managed to avoid getting hit, but even coming close in contact with the monster left her with electrical burns on her arms. "Bastard!" She roared.

"Uranus, are you okay?"

"WORLD SHAKING!"

The attack missed by a few inches. That properly pissed the creature off. It roared and charged at Haruka once more. The tunnels echoed with the sound, Michiru's ears were ringing. She felt disoriented.

"WATCH OUT!" Haruka screamed, Michiru jumped out of the way just to avoid the youma when it turned it's attention to her. She balanced unsteadily on a narrow maintenance platform.

"DEEP..."

"NO!" Haruka shouted. "Water and Electricity!" Michiru dropped her hand. Haruka was right. Neptune's Deep Submerge could possible make things worse.

Michiru jumped out of the way again, to avoid the creature. Pain shot up her leg. She turned to see the skin blistering. Haruka was perched on top of a light fitting, barely keeping balance on the tiny amount of space. She whistled to get the creature's attention away from Michiru. "Oi, ugly! Over here!"

It charged at Haruka's perch, the senshi of the sky managed to jump away just in time. She had obviously planned to jump to the next light over, but this one was rusted and gave way under her feet. She crashed to the thin platform below.

"URANUS!" Michiru screamed. Haruka wouldn't have time to recover before the creature attacked again. Michiru disregarded all her caution. She had to distract the creature even if it cost her her own life. "DEEP SUBMERGE!" Michiru shouted as soon as she got to her feet. The attack hit dead on, lightning exploded from the youma, lighting up the tunnel.

What happened next happened so fast Michiru could barely comprehend it. The sound of thunder. Terrible heat. Rocks crashing down around her as the tunnel caved in. Screams from not too far off. Intense, indescribable pain through her shoulder. Her back, her head...

She was pinned. She couldn't move. She could barely breathe. She opened her eyes to blackness. Dust burned them. Dust filled her lungs, mouth, and throat. But she couldn't cough. Something was crushing her chest. She was completely buried.

"NEPTUNE! NEPTUUUUNE!"

"...Ur...a..." She couldn't make her voice loud enough to be heard.

"Hello?" a young man's voice called out.

"Hello?" Haruka replied. "Are you okay, kid?"

"I think so...What happened?"

"I'll explain later! My partner...do you see my partner?"

"Just a second..." Michiru heard rocks shifting.

"I can't see anyone..."

"NEPTUNE! She has to be here somewhere! NEPTUNE!"

More rocks shifted, Michiru could just barely make out a dusty beam of faint yellow light. "NEPTUNE! WHERE ARE YOU?! _NEPTUNE!_ DAMNIT! ANSWER ME!"

Michiru could make out slightly more of her surroundings. Her hand searched the ground until she came across a rock she could pick up. With all the strength she had she hit it against the ground, making a echoing **clink** as rock hit metal. She struck it again. And again.

"Neptune!"

"It's coming from over here!" Rocks and rubble shifted. Michiru felt a pressure relieve from her chest as the weight of the rocks were thrown off of her. She coughed, though blood came up as well as dust. She saw the boy's face first. Then Haruka's.

"Neptune!"

Horror flooded Haruka's eyes. In the dusty light of the boy's cellphone, Michiru was able to see why. The pain she felt in her shoulder was from a beam that had pierced it completely through, pinning her to the ground.

"I'm...ok..." She said feebly.

"Don't talk." Haruka ordered. "Help me get her out of here!"

"She'll bleed to death!" The boy protested.

"There's no other way, we have to get her out. I won't leave her!"

"I'll get help!"

"That will take too much time!" Haruka snapped. "Please! She won't bleed out, I won't allow her too. Do you hear that, Neptune? You're going to stay with me! You promised!"

Michiru nodded feebly.

"Come on." Haruka said, "Are you ready." The boy nodded. Haruka climbed through the rubble to get over Michiru's body so she could pull the rod out. "Hold her still...I'm sorry, Neptune, this is going to hurt..."

Michiru tried to grit her teeth, but she screamed when the beam started ripping from her shoulder. It felt like her shoulder was being torn apart. Fire raged through her arm in response. Finally Haruka managed to pull the beam from her arm. The boy took off his tie and attempted to make a tourniquet. Haruka freed her from the rest of the rubble and pulled her into her arms.

"What's that?" The boy shouted, growing stiff in fright. Michiru could hear it too...the tracks were vibrating.

"A train..." Haruka said, her eyes wide in fear. "Run!" Before they could escape, there was another deafening crash...

 **Author's Note:** **Hey, thank you for all the super support I got after the last chapter. You guys really cheered me up. I've been going through some personal stuff, so sorry that this chapter was delayed, but I hope you guys like it. After all the kind messages I got I do intend to finish this story the way I had originally planned, I won't cut it short. Thanks again for all your words of encouragement, I promise I won't go all angst-cat on you again :D**


	21. From Haruka's Perspective: Confrontation

" _...Police are still unsure what caused the cave in that resulted in the train crash on the_ _Hanzomon Line_ _last afternoon, but investigations are ongoing. As a result the Hanzomon Line will be closed indefinitely. Police report that while one hundred thirty-six people were injured, so far there have been no reports of fatalities..."_

Haruka turned off the television. So far no one was killed because of them. That was a relief. _So far..._

Haruka stood in Michiru's doorway. Her face was still completely colorless. Haruka had done her best do bandage up all her wounds, but she was still injured badly. The primary explosion had been bad enough, but the crash had sent both of them flying like rag dolls. It had knocked them both unconscious. Haruka had come to when the rescue workers entered the tunnels. But Michiru hasn't shown any signs of life yet. Going the the hospital wasn't an option. So all that was left to do was pray and hope that somewhere out there there was at least one god who still cared.

Haruka spent most of the day sitting beside Michiru's bed, watching her breathe, just to make sure she was still alive. It wasn't until noon that finally Michiru opened her eyes. "...h...ru...ka..." She murmured. Haruka sat up and took Michiru's hand.

"I'm here..." Haruka assured her.

"Is the boy okay?"

Haruka nodded, "He's bruised up, and shaken up. But he'll be alright. And no one on the train was killed either."

"Thank goodness..." Michiru said. "Are you..." She placed her hand gently on the bandages around Haruka's throat.

"I'm fine." replied Haruka. "You don't need to worry about me."

Michiru gave a weak smile, "I'm glad..." She fell back to sleep. Haruka gently brushed the loose hair from her face.

The rest of the day passed slowly. Haruka called both of their schools to let them know they'd be out. She called Michiru's parents as well, knowing that the school would. She explained to Marketa that they were in the train crash, but they were both fine, Michiru was sleeping off pain meds so she couldn't talk, but she would call as soon as possible. The Bohemian woman started asking questions so fast and frantically that they were only half in Japanese. Haruka did manage to convince her not to come visit again, but quickly regretted her decision to call at all.

A little after three she heard the doorknob rattle as if someone was trying to get in, she stood up and went into the living room. The doorknob rattled a little more, then stopped. Moments later the intercom buzzed. Michiru had taught Haruka how to work the intercom system a few weeks ago when they ordered pizza.

" _Michiru?"_

Haruka hit the buzzer to reply. "Who is it?"

" _...This...this is Elsa...Elsa Gray...I have Michiru's homework from today..."_

"I'll be right there."

Haruka unlocked the door and opened it. Elsa Gray...now that she saw the girl's face, she recognized the name. It was the same girl that first introduced them at that track meet. She stared at Haruka in surprise.

"Can I have her things, please?" Haruka asked. Elsa handed them over, still staring in shock. "Thanks." Haruka muttered before starting to close the door.

"WAIT!" Elsa shouted, sticking her arm in the door to prevent it from closing. "Where's Michiru?"

"Back off."

"YOU CAN'T JUST SLAM THE DOOR LIKE THAT!"

Haruka tried her best to shut the door, but Elsa wouldn't budge. "It's rude to try to force yourself into someone else's house, didn't your mother ever tell you that?"

"Let me in, then!" Elsa replied.

Haruka could have gotten the door shut, but not without taking off the other girl's fingers. So she gave up and stepped back. The door slammed open and Elsa fell in, landing hard on the floor. She glared at Haruka. "You're awfully rude!"

Haruka sighed and offered Elsa a hand. "You tried to enter without permission, you're lucky I didn't call security on you, though you're probably used to that."

Elsa's eyes narrowed.

"Come on." Haruka said, indicating her hand. "Or are you going to stay on the floor."

Elsa pushed herself up on her own. Still glaring. Haruka simply turned. Elsa was Michiru's best friend, besides that, she was the one who took the first step in bringing them together, Haruka figured she should at least offer the bare minimum of hospitality.

"Do you want some tea?"

Elsa followed her to the kitchen and sat down at the counter. Haruka could feel the girl watching her but tried her best to ignore it.

"So where's Michiru?" Elsa asked.

"She's in bed resting." Haruka replied, finishing up the tea. "Here." She offered her a cup. "Would you mind leaving after you finish."

Elsa's eyes flashed. "Thanks for the tea."

Haruka made herself a cup and leaned against the counter taking a sip.

"How'd you hurt yourself?" Elsa asked.

Haruka deliberately took a longer drink to avoid answering. She supposed she could say she was on the train that crashed, that was almost true. But then Elsa would probably assume Michiru was on it as well and want to see her. "I crashed my motorcycle."

"You have to be more careful!" Elsa exclaimed, "What if you hurt your legs? You wouldn't be able to run track anymore!"

"I _don't_ run track anymore." Haruka told her.

"What!" Elsa exclaimed, she stood up so fast that her stood crashed to the ground with a clatter. "You quit?! Why would you do that?! How can you just throw away your talent?!"

Haruka glared at the girl, "I don't really see how that's any of your business!" Haruka replied.

"It IS my business! You could go to the Olympics! You could win the gold for Japan! It's selfish! Some people would give anything for talent like yours! And your just wasting it! Are you afraid?! Do you want to quit while you're ahead?! "

Haruka wanted to slap Elsa, but restrained herself. "It's time for you to go!" She replied, "I don't have time for you! And neither does Michiru!"

Elsa reeled back as if she had been slapped. "Where is Michiru?!"

"I told you, she's sleeping!"

Elsa pushed past, heading for Michiru's bedroom. "I want to see her!"

Haruka grabbed her arm. "She's sleeping!" Haruka repeated.

"I'm not going to wake her up!" Retorted Elsa, "I just want to see her face to make sure she's okay!"

"NO!" Haruka blocked the door.

"Why are you hiding her?"

"This isn't you're house! You were asked to leave! Go home!"

"This isn't you're house either! Who do you think you are anyways?! Why are you even here?! Michiru and I have been friends long before she met you!"

"I'm warning you, Gray, _go home_!" Haruka was loosing her patients.

"What are you to Michiru?! You're acting like your her girlfriend or something!"

"What if I am!?" Replied Haruka.

Elsa took a step back. "What?"

"We're girlfriends...actually, we're much closer than that. If you want, ask her about it when she returns to school." Haruka calmed down a bit now that Elsa was no longer pushing at her trying to get into Michiru's bedroom. "For now, please leave _our_ apartment."

"Fine then..." It was clear Elsa was trying not to let Haruka see the tears starting to gather in her eyes. She turned and ran out the door.

Haruka sighed. She felt guilty, but if Elsa would have seen Michiru in the state she was in... for both Michiru's and Elsa's sake, it was better for Elsa to hate Haruka rather than risk her discovering too much. She locked the door again after Elsa left, then turned to go into Michiru's room.

"Your friend Elsa was here." Haruka said. "She dropped of your bag and your homework."

"I heard." Michiru commented. "You were pretty harsh."

Haruka sighed. "I had to be."

"I know." Michiru replied. "I just wish there was another way."

Haruka kissed her, "Rest some more so that you can heal. Everything will turn out alright."

Michiru took Haruka's hand. "Stay with me."

Haruka blinked in surprise. "Always." Haruka vowed. Gently Michiru pulled Haruka into the bed. Haruka obeyed, crawling under the down comforter. Michiru curled up next to her. Putting her head on Haruka's chest before falling back asleep.

 **Author's Note:** **I've got so many kind messages, thank you all so much 3 I really love them. So I've tried to just use The Lady in the Tower as a base, but I really love this scene between Haruka and Elsa, so I decided to include it, it was fun to adapt into written form. The upcoming chapter is proving to be a little difficult for me, so I'm not sure if it will be up next week or the week after, I hate making you guys wait, but I want my updates to be good, it's not fair to you or the characters when I submit something half assed. Anyways, as always, thanks for reading.**


	22. Fever Dreams

**Author's Note:** **As a rule of thumb I like to post on Saturdays because I'm off of work and school, but I'm going deer hunting this weekend, so internet access will be 0. So here's this weeks chapter on three days early. A lot of information in this one, I kind of did it in a way that was intentionally a bit confusing to mimic the feeling of having a high fever and trying to think coherently**

Michiru woke up to pain and the feeling of wetness seeping across her shoulder. She gently pushed on her shoulder wound with her fingers, they came away damp and red. She rolled over. Haruka was asleep next to her. She had forgotten she had asked Haruka to spend the night with her. She should have felt happy and just a little embarrassed, but all she could think about was the pain in her shoulder. Haruka's face was childlike in sleep. Michiru wanted to let her sleep, but the pain in her body wouldn't allow that. She needed help.

"Haruka..." Michiru whispered, nudging her partner. "Haruka, wake up..."

Haruka grumbled and turned her head to face away from Michiru, pulling the pillow over her ear. "Please, Haruka..." The pain in her voice must have alerted Haruka, because the blonde opened her eyes to investigate.

"What's the matter?" Haruka asked concerned, sitting up.

"My shoulder..."

Haruka turned on the lamp on the bedside table. Blood had soaked the bandages and left a stain on Michiru's pillow. Haruka's eyebrows knitted. "I'll get some clean dressings." She said, "You probably just pulled a stitch in your sleep."

Haruka got out of bed and disappeared. Michiru tried to sit up, but her body wouldn't cooperate. She was too stiff, too many places hurt. It was all she could do not to cry out in pain. When Haruka reentered Michiru looked at her helplessly. "I can't get up..." Michiru said in shame.

"I'll help you." Haruka assured her. She put the medical supplies down and carefully lifted Michiru into her arms and carried her to a chair. Even being moved was agonizing, but Michiru didn't complain, she tried to grit her teeth so not to whimper in pain, she didn't know whether or not she succeeded. Haruka set her down in her chair in front of the vanity.

Haruka cut away the bandages on Michiru's shoulder. "Dammit..."

Michiru was almost afraid to look into the mirror. When she did she saw the reflection of the wound. Around the wound angry, red flesh was puckered and shiny with infection. Puss and blood oozed from between the makeshift stitches.

"I was afraid of this...dammit...I disinfected it, but that beam was so dirty and rusted...dammit!" Michiru inhaled sharply when Haruka's fingers ever so softly touched the flesh around the wound. "Sorry...damn it all...I don't even want to try putting alcohol on it...The pain will be unbearable."

"If you don't it will only get worse..." Michiru told her.

"I know." Haruka replied. "You're probably going to need something to bite down on." She rolled up a washcloth and Michiru held it between her teeth. Then Haruka poured the alcohol over the wound. The pain was so intense that she screamed, the sound muted by the wash cloth. She bit down on it hard, so hard that she could taste blood in her mouth. Fire raged though her shoulder, spreading throughout her body. All she could hear was a loud, high pitch ringing. Lights exploded behind her eyelids. The pain was so intense that she couldn't breathe.

" _Come on! Stop being such a fraidy fish!"_

" _Don't call me a fish!"_

" _Don't you live on Neptune? Isn't Neptune the planet of sea? Fishes live in the sea, you're a fish!"_

 _Michiru pouted, crossing her arms and stomping her foot. "I'm going to tell my mama that you're being mean to me!"_

 _Uranus stuck her tongue out and laughed, "Come on now! How old are you?"_

" _50 Tritons."_

" _So that's eight lunar years, right? That's old enough not to run to mommy every time you're feelings are hurt. Now hurry up, or as soon as we get there we'll have to turn right around and go home!"_

 _Uranus grabbed Michiru's hand and pulled her down into a cave. "It's dark!" Michiru complained._

" _Keep hold of my hand, you'll be fine. I know my way."_

 _Michiru obeyed, keeping close to Uranus. Suddenly the world lit up, brilliant crystals colored the walls, each glowing a different shade of blue, green, and even purple._

" _Wow...What is this place?"_

" _It's our secret place now, I found it. My mother told me winter will be here soon, and we won't see the sun for 17 lunar years, so I decided we need to find a place to play where we won't have to worry about sun."_

" _It's so pretty...OUCH!"_

" _Sallie!"_

" _I'm okay, I cut myself on a rock."_

 _Uranus tore off the bottom of her dress to wrap it around Michiru's bleeding elbow. "You're mother's going to kill you!"_

" _It doesn't matter, I'm supposed to take care of you, so I will."_

" _Are you always going to be here for me?"_

" _Always."_

" _Even when we grow up?"_

" _Mmhmm, forever, I promise."_

Michiru was in bed again, Haruka was washing her skin with a cool rag, she was so cold. "You're awake. Are you hungry?"

"Cold..." Michiru complained. Where were her blankets? There was only a sheet.

"You have a fever, I'm trying to get it down." Haruka told her.

Michiru whined. The pain in her shoulder was excruciating. The whole upper left side of her body now burned, her neck was too stiff to move. "I'll bring you some soup, you have to get your strength up..."

Before Haruka returned Michiru closed her eyes again.

" _WHAT? That's too long! I told the professor we could start phase two immediately!"_

" _We are working on it! But we aren't simply possessing a human, we're attempting to create an entirely new form of life. We won't be able to finish overnight!"_

" _The girl is getting weaker by the day, she can barely make it two days without a seizure. If she dies this is all for nothing, we need to hurry up and awaken the Messiah of Silence while her body is still strong enough to handle it!"_

" _We know that, Kaolinite!"_

" _Then you understand why I can't wait to another five months!"_

" _You'll have to!"_

" _You were the one who suggested that we stop the chimera experiments and I sold the idea to the professor by promising him that we could get him results in phase two."_

" _You will get him results in phase two!"_

" _Results NOW, not five months from now! What was the point in stopping work on the chimera if we can't send out the daimon eggs?!"_

" _Because if we still had to make chimera eggs this would take even longer!"_

" _What if you had more staff?"_

" _What?"_

" _If the two of you will take five months to figure out how to create daimon eggs, what if you had more people working for you?"_

" _Depends, how many more?"_

" _There are a few students who are excelling in the school; Yui Bidou, Lulu Teruno, a couple of others."_

" _So four? If you get four other people to help, and they're not idiots, then we can probably get the Daimions ready to send out in three months."  
_

" _Two months. The girls I have in mind are_ very _smart."_

" _Fine."_

"Michiru...come on...drink..." Something cold and wet trickled over Michiru's cracked lips. Haruka's face cut through the darkness. "I know it hurts...but you have to keep fighting...you can't die on me...please, Michiru."

" _Mama, why is this mirror so much more important than all your other mirrors?"_

" _Be careful, Salacia."_

" _You always say this mirror is the most important thing you own, the most important artifact of our planet. Why?"_

" _With this mirror you can see the true soul of people, who they are, who they were, and who they one day will become."_

" _So it shows the future?"_

" _And the past. And parts of the present that others may be unable to see. It can be used as a shield to reflect an enemy's attack back at them, or a weapon."_

" _Really? I can only see myself in it..."_

" _It only works for it's rightful owner. You'll be able to use it one day, but not yet."_

" _When will I be able to use it?"_

" _Hopefully no time soon. It will be yours when I retire and you inherit my powers. Then you'll learn how to use the mirror properly."_

" _That's when I'll become Sailor Neptune, right?"_

" _Yes, but before you can wield the mirror as anything other than an ordinary looking glass you'll need to understand it's most important purpose."_

" _What's that?"_

" _I'll tell you when you start your training."_

" _That's not fair! Mother! Mother!"_

"...mother..."

"You're mother is in America. She can't see you like this, you know that." Haruka's voice sounded desperate. Michiru felt a wash cloth move across her skin again. "When you get better we can have her come visit, or we can visit her, but you have to get better..."

" _It looks like this is the end."_

" _We've dirtied our hands with the blood of betrayal. We no longer have wings to fly in the blue sky..."_

" _I know."_

" _...or the beaks to peck our own flesh?"_

" _I can endure anything with you, even being burned by the fires of hell."_

" _Hell? It doesn't suit you."_

" _I don't regret it."_

" _Haruka! Michiru! Why?"_

" _You know why...this is how we fight..."_

" _Haruka! Michiru!"_

" _Are...you...scared...Michiru?"_

" _Haruka..."_

" _What?"_

" _I...want...to...touch...you...Haruka...I think...I can...see...the light..."_

" _You're...warm...Michiru..."_

No, she wasn't warm...she was cold. So cold...

"Blankets...please..."

"I'm sorry, Michiru. I can't, you're fever is to high...I need to get it down. Bundling yourself up won't make you feel any warmer. Try to eat." Something pressed to her lips. "This is rice porridge, I watered it down, you should be able drink it."

Haruka lifted up Michiru's neck the pain was too bad. She wretched and vomited.

" _A talisman? What do you mean?"_

" _Remember all those years ago, when you were just a little girl and you asked what the real purpose of the mirror was?"_

" _Yes, you wouldn't answer me."_

" _I said I would tell you when you began your training. You're nearly a woman. It's time you learn."_

" _Okay, so what's the mirror really for? And why wouldn't you tell me when I was a kid?"_

" _Because it's a terrible responsibility. This mirror exists because there may come a time when not even the Sailor Senshi can protect our world. There may be a time when the suffering of the human race is so profound that nothing can repair the balance. When that happens, Sailor Saturn must be awakened."_

" _Sailor Saturn? I thought there wasn't a Sailor Saturn. I thought Saturn was the dead planet."_

" _It is. Sailor Saturn is the forbidden soldier. When she awakens she will destroy the world. This talisman, along with two others from Pluto and Uranus can summon her."_

" _Why would I ever do that?!"_

" _Because sometimes destruction is the only way to bring about rebirth."_

" _..."_

" _There's one other person the talismans can summon."_

" _Who?"_

" _Our messiah."_

" _Who's our messiah?"_

" _No one knows, but when you need her, she will appear."_

" _How do I know if we will awaken the Messiah or Sailor Saturn?"_

" _If the world can be saved the Messiah will appear."_

"I'll be back, Michiru. I'm leaving but I'll be right back. Don't worry. I'll make you better. I promise. Just hold on a little longer. You're still alive, still be alive when I return. Please..."

" _You're still alive. Keep moving. Come on, Sallie."_

" _Don't call me that! I'm not your little playmate Sallie anymore. Since my mother died I'm Sailor Neptune."_

" _I know how you feel. I know. But we have to keep going. We have to survive."_

" _No. You know what we have to do."_

" _No! We're going to survive this. We can win, I know it's been hard but believe in your powers, if not believe in mine."_

" _We can't fight forever."_

" _Don't talk like that."_

" _Neptune's right."_

" _Pluto! What are you doing here?"_

" _I've come to find you two. We lost this war, it's time to awaken her."_

" _NO!"_

" _My mother told me that bringing together the talismens could also call the Messiah. Maybe she will come and save us..."_

" _She won't. It's too late, she only appears if the world can be saved."_


	23. Love, Loss, and Laundry

Something tugged Michiru's skin in the crook of her elbow. It wasn't a bad pain, more like the a bee sting, but it was annoying. Michiru opened her eyes and looked over, there was an I.V. attached to her. The agonizing pain in her shoulder had subsided to a dull ache.

Haruka was still asleep next to her. All of the blonde's bandages had been removed, she was completely healed, Michiru wondered how much time had passed. How long had she been fighting off her fever? Most of Michiru's injuries were still there, though not nearly as bad as they had been, she couldn't see her shoulder injury without a mirror, but she felt it with her fingers and the flesh was no longer hot to the touch, so the infection must be gone.

Michiru pushed herself up, but a deep sharp pain in her chest made bile rush up her throat, she quickly got to the side of the bed and retched. Quickly hands came from behind her to hold her hair back. She saw that buckets had been lined around the bed. Haruka must have put them there. The lack of any food in Michiru's stomach made the experience of vomiting so much worse since it was pure stomach acid that was coming up.

When she was done she fell back into the bed. Haruka offered her a wash cloth. "Are you actually awake this time?"

Michiru looked weakly at her partner, "I think so, but I can't be too sure. I feel half dead."

Haruka sighed in relief. "For a while I thought you were a lot more than just half..."

Michiru didn't reply.

"That's the second time." Haruka said after a long silence.

"What second time?"

"That's the second time I had to wait around helplessly to see you were going to live or die. The second time you nearly lost your life because you were trying to protect me."

Michiru didn't respond right away. "I suppose it is." She finally said.

"No more." Haruka told her. "Promise me there won't be a third time."

Michiru averted her eyes.

"Michiru!"

"I don't make promises I don't know for sure I can keep. I pulled you into this. I'm not going to let you die if I can stop it."

Haruka's nose flared. "So you think risking your own life is better? You'd rather leave me to live with the guilt of you dying for me?"

"I'll do whatever it takes to keep you alive." Michiru replied, not shying away from Haruka's anger.

Haruka glared at her, she looked back, her face calm and honest. Haruka seemed unable to remain mad when Michiru was lying so broken. Finally she sighed, "I don't want to argue with you about this right now. So lets just agree no dying. Either of us."

"Alright." Michiru said.

Haruka stood and started to turn away. "I'll get you some broth, see if you can stomach it..."

"Alright." Michiru agreed, though with the harsh taste of bile in her mouth she didn't feel like eating. It wasn't until Haruka was at the door that she spoke up again. "But if I do die, you know you have to keep going. Forsake me, and carry on with your mission. No matter what."

Haruka froze. "I don't make promises I can't keep either."

"One of us has to survive this. One of us needs to stop the Messiah of Silence, even if the other one falls. We can't let this world fall to ruins."

Haruka stood for what seemed like a long time, her back to Michiru. "Fine. If one of us dies, the other carries on until the mission is completed. But I make no promises for after that." Then she walked out the door.

One of Michiru's dreams came back to her, hazy though it was. The one where she and Haruka lay dying, separated by a little over two arm lengths of space, trying desperately just to touch each other one last time before the end...She shuttered. _Is that our fate?_ She would be lying if she said she didn't fear her own death. Of course she was afraid of dying, it was only natural. She didn't want to die, but she accepted that that was a very real possibility, and she would lay down her life without hesitations if that turned out to be what was required of her. But she didn't want to die like that, shamed and broken and unable to see or reach Haruka.

 _We've dirtied our hands with the blood of betrayal._ That's what Haruka had said in the dream. Who had they betrayed? Who had been the person crying their names? She decided then and there they could never have allies. They had each other, that would be all they needed. They wouldn't get anyone else involved. That way they couldn't hurt anyone else.

Haruka returned, with a mug full of chicken broth. Michiru sipped it as she studied the I.V bag hanging from the bed post. "How did you get that?" She finally asked Haruka.

Haruka seemed unsure whether or not to be ashamed. "I stole them."

"You stole them?" Repeated Michiru, "How?" A ridiculous thought of Haruka holding up a hospital at gun point popped into her mind for some reason.

"I transformed and snuck into the hospital and took them from a supply cupboard, along with several medicines. I had no choice. You had become septic and I was too afraid to take you in."

Michiru felt guilt gnaw at her stomach. "I'm sorry, I can't imagine what I put you through..."

"Don't apologize." Haruka told her. "Just focus on healing."

After a while of silence Michiru spoke again. "I had dreams..."

"I figured. You were calling out in your sleep."

"I was?"

Haruka nodded. "You called for your mom more than anyone else, then your dad, then..." Haruka blushed. "Me, sometimes Uranus, sometimes Titania, sometimes Haruka. And a few other names I didn't recognize."

"I think some of my dreams were prophecies. And some of them were about the enemy. Some were memories." She relayed all that she remembered from her dreams to Haruka, save for the one about their deaths. The didn't both have to be haunted by their fate. Haruka patiently listened, her face unreadable.

"If the enemy is stalled, that's good, we have two months to figure this out before we have to worry about fighting again." Haruka pointed out when Michiru had finished speaking.

"That's true." Michiru agreed, "But..."

"I know...We could end up saving the world or ending it..."

"We have to risk it though." Michiru said after a long pause. "If the enemies get the talismans first the world _will_ end, without a doubt."

Haruka nodded with a fierce glint of determination in her eyes. "We'll do whatever it takes to get them first."

The days passed slowly after that. After the infection in her shoulder cleared up, Michiru's accelerated healing abilities started to work once more, but even with them her injuries were severe and she remained bedridden for the greater part of the following three days.

During that time the girls decide to hole up doing research. Haruka had gone to the library and found every available scrap of information she could about the Three Regalias of Japan. Now that they knew that two of the talismans were a sword and a mirror, they were more certain than ever that the old story represented them. However, their hours pouring over book after book seemed to be in vain. All that it gained them was a mound of frustration.

"At least we know what the talismans _are_..." Michiru tried to comfort Haruka after the blonde shoved a pile of books off the bed in anger.

"Yeah, a lot of good that does us!" Snapped Haruka. "What, do we just test every single sword, mirror, and gemstone in Japan? Hope maybe one of them will seem familiar?"

Michiru sighed, even though doing so sent a jolt of discomfort through her still recovering ribs. "Lets put this away for now. We're not getting anywhere. Lets do someone to take our minds off of it for a while."

Haruka smiled wickedly. "Yeah? What did you have in mind?" She crawled up the bed to Michiru and kissed her neck.

Michiru pushed her away, though not by choice. "I'm still too sore for that." Haruka pouted her cute little pout that made it even harder for Michiru to say no. "Don't look at me like that. I want to too, trust me, I want to. But I want our first time to be special, I don't want to be broken for it."

Haruka sat up, "You're right." She brushed a piece of hair from Michiru's face, tucking it behind her ear. Fingers lingering on Michiru's jawbone. "Thank God you're a fast healer."

Haruka's touch made Michiru equally impatient. She pulled away before she changed her mind. "Did you get the laundry out of the drier? I'll help you fold it."

Haruka looked horrified. "You deny me so much as a kiss, and then you want me to do chores instead?"

Michiru smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "I'm going back to school tomorrow. I would like to do so wearing clean cloths."

Even though it came with a lot of grumbling, the laundry basket did find its way up to the bed. It was an unbelievably large load, evidence enough that certain people couldn't be left responsible for remembering to wash cloths regularly if Michiru ever wanted clean panties again. "How did you survive on your own for a whole year?"

"Hey, don't blame me, if you had a maid like normal rich people..."

"You're my maid."

Haruka laughed and shook her head. "To think I was actually worried about you..."

"You didn't separate or anything...no wonder all your clothes as in such horrible shape...you're supposed to wash like things together..."

"If you have a problem with how I wash clothes, don't go comatose anymore. Then you can do your own damn laundry."

"I should probably be lucky you didn't blow up the machine."

"The next monster, I'm definitely going to let eat you..."

Michiru pretended to be offended, "Excuse me? Who saved who from the attack?"

"And who pulled who out of the rubble and carried her home?"

Michiru just smiled and shook her head. If her inability to do laundry was Haruka's biggest flaw Michiru was pretty lucky. She went back to folding Haruka's ties, but she came across one that didn't match the rest. "This isn't from one of your uniforms is it?" She asked, holding up the green and blue striped tie.

"Huh? Oh. No." Haruka said, "That's from the boy in the subway, he used it to wrap your arm remember? I suppose you can just throw it, I doubt we'll find him again."

Michiru studied the tie. "I've seen this pattern..." She said, to herself just as much as to her partner. "I've seen this loads of times."

"Yeah, it's from a school, you've probably bumped into other students."

"No." Michiru shook her head. "I just realized...the youmas...when they turn back to humans...most of them are wearing school uniforms. Always the same uniform."

"That can't be right." Haruka said, looking as if she was trying very hard to remember their past victims. "I would have noticed."

"You joined me during school break. Everyone was wearing street cloths, but I fought during the school days. I don't remember seeing any uniform other than this one."

Haruka considered. "The boy from the track the day I became Uranus was wearing this..."

Michiru nodded. "In my dreams about the enemy, they mentioned students."

"You think their operating out of a school?" Haruka looked affronted. "And using their students as monsters? That's sick!"

"But it makes sense, an endless stream of test subjects."

Haruka's disgust turned to anger. "What school? Do you know?"

Michiru turned the tie over. "Mugen Academy." She read the tag on the back. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"No, you?"

"They sent me a few pamphlets, trying to get me to come there for high school. I tossed them in a drawer with all the other ones I've gotten."

"Where?"

Michiru pointed. Haruka hurried over and retrieved a stack of pamphlets from various high schools and brought them back to the bed. She shifted through them until she found the right one.

"Here...Mugan Academy, Infinity District, Sankakusu...that's not far from here..."

"I was considering going," Michiru said, taking the paper from Haruka's hand. "Look!" She pointed to a woman's picture on the back. "That's the woman. The one from my dreams."

"The red-head?"

"Yeah...Principal Kaori Kuromine..."

"The proves it..." Haruka's eyes moved across the page as she read. "What should we do? If we go in all guns blazing students might get hurt."

"We don't have enough information to go in all guns blazing anyways." Michiru pointed out. "And there's only two of us. We don't know what kind of fight we may be in for. They come from beyond the solar system, they may have technology we couldn't even dream of."

"So what do we do?" Repeated Haruka.

"Infiltrate." Michiru decided. "We'll enroll and take things from there."

 **Author's Note:** **Here's a long one for you, it's a day late, but two pages longer than usual. I really liked writing casual Haruka/Michiru. No matter what else they are, they're still humans. I hope I captured that here. My favorite scene to date is that tiny blurb when Haruka's trying to be suave and play girlfriend games with Michiru and Mich just shuts her down, I think we've all had times like that in a relationship. I'm on the fence about writing a sex scene for them. I don't want to become 'one of THOSE' fics, but I would like to push my boundaries more as a writer. I don't know, maybe I'll write it in another story and link it in, that way anyone who wants to read it can, anyone who doesn't doesn't have to. Let me know what you think.**

 **Regardless, as I'm writing this thanksgiving is coming up this week, which means fall finals are nearly here. I don't know when I'll update next because as much as I love you guys and this story, I have priorities, unfortunately school has to be one of them. I'll for sure update by winter break if not sooner. Peace out, and as always review!**


	24. Things Start to Change

"MICHIRU!" Michiru turned when she heard her name called. Elsa ran up and hugged her from behind. "It's been a week! Are you feeling better?"

"Hey, Elsa." Michiru said recovering from the shock of her friend knocking into her. "I'm much better, thanks. And thanks for bringing me my things."

"Not a problem...I was surprised to see Haruka Tenoh there..." She was prodding for information, but Michiru didn't want to explain things. So she just gave a non committal "hmmhm."

"I thought things didn't work out between the two of you..." Elsa said, still pushing, "Then she wouldn't let me go in to see you. I was worried..."

"I heard the two of you arguing." Admitted Michiru, "I'm sorry she was so rude, she had no right to say the things she did. I told her off for it. But she didn't want you to catch my cold."

Elsa looked skeptical. "She said you two are dating now. I thought you said she was a jerk."

Michiru sighed, Elsa clearly wasn't going to give up. "I didn't understand her before. She's got a complicated life, just like I do. She's just trying to protect herself from getting hurt. That makes her come off as rude sometimes. Try not to hold it against her."

"Why'd she quit track?"

"Why are you so interested?"

Elsa seemed a little taken back. "I thought that's why you liked her in the first place. You're crush on her developed when you saw her running. I assumed it was because of the skills and passion. I just didn't think you liked quitters." Michiru slammed her locker door, it resounded with a loud bang down the hall.

"She's not a quitter!" Retorted Michiru. "I told you, it's complicated. She has her own reasons they're not my business to talk about and definitely not yours. I'm not going to stand around here gossiping. If you have nothing else you want to talk about then excuse me, I have a lot of catching up to do."

She pushed past Elsa and hurried down the hall without looking back.

Michiru felt guilty for snapping at her friend, but Haruka was right, it was better to hurt Elsa's feelings then let her get involved. Besides, knowing Elsa it would be forgotten about as soon something interesting came along that she would need to gossip to Michiru about. Still, it was weird sitting behind her in class and not talking. If Michiru was ever unsure if Elsa was actually offended, the answer came very clear when someone asked, "You're usually turned around talking to Kaioh every chance you get, what's up?"

"I'd hate to disturb her, she's 'got a lot of catching up to do'." The bitterness in Elsa's voice was as clear as the words were. Michiru tried to ignore it. That day at lunch Michiru ate alone in the art room working on homework from the week she missed and filling out an application for Mugan Academy.

"You're not staying at Seijo Gakuen?" An underclassman asked when she saw Michiru's application. Their school had both junior high and high school buildings. Most students didn't transfer. "Why not? It's one of the best high schools in Toyko."

"I like it here." Michiru replied. "But I think it's time I try something knew. Mugen has certain attributes that interest me."

The underclassman pouted. "I suppose, but we'll miss you here."

Michiru was surprised. She had seen the younger girl many times before in the art room, but they had never spoken. Michiru didn't even know her name. The girl became flustered. "I mean...watching you paint is unreal. We all love seeing what you create. We won't be able to do that anymore."

"Other people will come along." Michiru said. "Everyone leaves eventually."

"I guess." The girl said. "Good luck on Mugen's, I heard it's super tough to get into, only the top of the genius students get in. You could make it, but I sure couldn't."

"Thanks." Michiru replied.

That got her worrying though. If only geniuses got in, could Haruka? She was smart, but lazy. She skipped school regularly, and Michiru had no idea what kind of grades she got. That night she brought it up as she was making dinner. "Haruka, what's your average test score?"

Haruka laughed, "That's a weird question. Are you going to kick me out if I'm not smart enough?"

"Don't tease! Just tell me."

"I got one 98 last year when I didn't sleep the night before. Other than that I've gotten nothing but perfect scores since grade school. I may not win perfect attendance, but I know how to read my text books."

Michiru sighed in relief.

"Why?" Haruka asked again.

"I heard Mugen's is hard to get into. Even geniuses find it difficult to get in."

Haruka laughed and put her arms around Michiru's torso. "You didn't think I was smart enough to get in?"

"I never said that!" Michiru retorted.

Haruka laughed again. "You're not the first one to have that assumption you know? People assume because I'm a sports star...I _was_ a sports star...that I'm not good at anything else."

Michiru heard the sadness in her partners voice when she corrected herself. She missed track, Michiru could tell. Elsa was right about one thing, Haruka had been passionate about it. It was hard for her not to run anymore, particularly now that the finals were coming up.

"You didn't have to quit track you know." Michiru told her. "You're the one that said we could chase our dreams _and_ be soldiers."

Haruka lowered her gaze. "I still believe that. But track was a hobby. My dreams are motor sports, bikes, and hopefully cars soon...If I have a future, it's there, not in running some silly middle school races."

Michiru could feel her partner's regret. "If you have a future it's with me." She said, nuzzling her head into Haruka's cheek. "I'll support you no matter what you do." Haruka smiled.

The next day, Michiru forced Haruka to get up early to visit the store before school. "What could you possibly need that can't wait until after school?"

"I'll be two minutes." Promised Michiru. She didn't lie. She was in and out before the song on the radio had ended. 

"What did you get?" Haruka asked.

"A gift."

"For me?"

Michiru giggled. "Isn't being around be reward enough?"

"Not when you make me get up fifteen minutes earlier...or at all..."

"Stop complaining. What are you going to do when we start Mugen? You won't be able to skip there. If you get kicked out, how will we be able to investigate?"

Haruka sighed. "Maybe we'll defeat the enemy our first day and won't have to worry about it."

"There you go." Michiru said, "Optimism is key, isn't it?"

Haruka smiled in spite herself. "You're a real pain in the ass." They got to Michiru's school and Haruka gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you after school."

"See you."

Michiru hurried to her classroom and put what she had bought, a box of taffy, on the desk in front of her before opening her notebook to do some of her make up homework. The class filtered in, Elsa was one of the last people, making it in just as the bell rang. She sat down and saw the box of candy on her desk. She looked at Michiru. "You don't need to apologize.." She said. "You were right, your girlfriend is none of my business."

"She isn't." Michiru agreed, "But I shouldn't have been so rude. You were just curious."

Elsa smiled, "I'm glad you came around. I'm even more glad you came around with candy! Besides, I've been dying to tell you about what you've missed all week!"

Michiru was glad to see Elsa willing to forget their fight so easily, though Michiru didn't really doubt she would. Elsa wasn't the type of person to hold grudges. Yet there was a sinking in the pit of Michiru's stomach. Something told her that fate wouldn't allow their friendship to last much longer.

 **Author's Note:** **Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Like I said last chapter, life get's chaotic when finals start rolling in.**


	25. Goodbye

Michiru stood in the art room looking out the window at to courtyard of her school. She thought back to her first day, three years ago. Back then she had been so terrified, yet excited and optimistic. That felt so long ago now. Back before she was Sailor Neptune, before her music career started, even before she started living on her own. She had just been a shy, scared little girl hoping to make friends, a goal she had failed pretty miserably at for the year before Elsa transferred. She had had acquaintances, and later fans, but only one actual friend.

Now her time at this school was done. Graduation had just ended. Entrance exams were taken, both Michiru and Haruka had gotten into Mugen. This would be the last time Michiru would look over this courtyard.

The door burst open. "Sorry I'm late." Elsa said, clearly out of breath. "Some underclassmen ambushed me in the hallway. They wanted something to remember me by. I gave them my uniform just to get rid of them. Seriously, it was like a highway robbery!"

Michiru couldn't help but laugh. "It's your own fault for being so popular."

"Come on, you're way more popular than I am. I swear I saw some kids writing good-bye notes on your desk." Elsa crossed over to stand by Michiru at the window.

"I was exalted, there's a difference. People wanted to gawk at me, never be my friend. You were everybody's friend." Michiru meant it as a complement, though she noted her words made Elsa look embarrassed so she changed the subject. "It's the last day I'll get to wear this uniform." She mused, looking through some drawers. "That's kind of a sad thought. I like it."

"Blue always has looked good on you." Elsa agreed. "But in four months you'll get a new uniform."

"I suppose that's true..." She shifted through another stack of canvasses and frowned.

"What are you looking for?" Elsa asked.

"A painting I did...I think someone must have taken it."

"WHAT!?" Elsa shouted, instantly outraged. "Who would steal from you?! What little, thieving..."

"There's no use getting worked up." Michiru sighed, "It was small, so it could fit in someone's backpack. Whoever took it is probably gone home by now. Yelling won't change it."

"Still..." Elsa said, clearly still angry on Michiru's behalf. "I'm sorry people have to be so greedy."

"I wouldn't be upset if it was just any painting, but it was a gift." explained Michiru. "For you."

"For me?"

"It was a picture of us together, I wanted you to have it to remember me by."

Elsa looked confused. "Remember you by? We're only going to different schools. It's not like we won't still hang out all the time."

Michiru found it hard to look her friend in the face, but forced herself to do it. "We won't, though. This will probably be the last time we'll ever see each other."

"Don't say that! We'll still..."

"No. We won't."

Elsa stopped. They stared at each other. Elsa looked hurt and confused. Michiru had to remind herself she had to stay strong. Part of her still wanted to cry, but she didn't. This was what was best.

"Can I at least ask why?" Elsa asked. She didn't cry either. There was no bitterness or betrayal in her words. She seemed to understand. She had for a while now. She wasn't stupid. While she couldn't possibly know the full depth of it, she seemed to acknowledge this wasn't what Michiru wanted. There was something deeper going on that she couldn't be involved with.

"I'd rather you didn't." Michiru replied, turning away to look out the window again, "You're my best friend. I really don't want to have to lie to you."

There was silence once more. Elsa joined Michiru at the window. After a moment she smiled, though it was obviously forced, her eyes were still full of pain. "This doesn't mean you get out of giving me a present." She said, trying to lighten the mood. "Why don't you give me something else?"

Michiru smiled back, "You can have my watch." She suggested. "Maybe then you'll get to some of your classes on time next year."

Elsa shook her head. "That's way too expensive."

"I don't have anything else." Michiru said. "Other than some pencils and handkerchiefs..."

Elsa seemed to think for a moment before saying. "What about your scarf?"

"That's not enough..." protested Michiru. "And you have one just like it..."

"The highway robbers took my uniform, remember?" Elsa joked. "Besides, it's different, it's yours. And in a few years, when you're watching the Olympic and you see me wearing it as my token, you'll know I haven't forgotten you."

"Alright..." Michiru said, untying the scarf from the front of her uniform. She handed it to Elsa. "I'll still be cheering you on, you know."

"I know." Elsa put her hand on Michiru's shoulder. Then nodded to the window. "But I think this is goodbye, your ride is here."

Michiru turned to look. Haruka's canary yellow convertible was easy to spot even at the distance, it's owner leaning against it as a crowd gathered.

"I told her not to come..." Michiru muttered, fully aware that her girlfriend had foregone her own goodbyes just so Michiru wouldn't have to walk home alone.

"She's like a knight coming to rescue the princess." Elsa joked.

"She is a knight." Michiru replied, "A golden knight from a silver kingdom...I wish you two could have met under different circumstances...I just know you would have been friends."

"I wish so too..." Elsa said. "You really love her, don't you?"

Michiru nodded. "Don't laugh, but that first time I saw her I fell in love with her. And over time, that just deepened..."

Elsa didn't laugh, they stared out the window together. "I know you two are involved in something dangerous." Elsa said, "And I respect that you can't tell me about it. But just so you know, if you ever need anything, anything at all, I'll be there. For both of you."

"Thank you." Michiru said. She gave Elsa a hug. "Good luck, I'm sure you'll succeed in all of your dreams."

"Goodbye, Michiru."

"Goodbye, Elsa."

 **Author's Note: The End. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it, thank you for all the support and comments I have gotten. I hope you'll keep an eye out for my next story whenever I post it. I'm definitely not done with the Sailor Moon fandom, particularly the outer senshi family, so if you liked this story keep an eye on my page ^-^**


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